A decade later, friends and families of Brentwood Five still trying to heal
In the early hours of April 15, 2014, five friends were stabbed to death during a party at a Brentwood home – an act that shook Calgary to its core.
Kaiti Perras, Lawrence Hong, Jordan Segura, Zackariah Rathwell and Josh Hunter were killed by Matthew de Grood, who was found to have been not criminally responsible (NCR).
Monday will mark 10 years since their deaths.
- Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
Kyle Tenove was in a band with Rathwell and Hunter.
Performing a sold-out show at the Palomino in Calgary, the group had no idea the tragedy that would soon strike.
On April 12, 2014, Zackariah and the Prophets released their six-song EP record.
"Four best friends having the best time of their lives," Tenove said.
"We recorded it in Lethbridge in a little farmhouse."
Rathwell was lead vocalist and guitar player, Barry Mason was lead guitar, Hunter played drums and Tenove was on bass.
All four met in high school at Bishop Carroll and became sudden friends.
Tenove and Mason, the two surviving members of that band, are both continuing with their music careers in other projects.
But the pair say they wanted to remember their bandmates and re-release their EP – a remastered version – on the 10-year anniversary of when it first came out.
"We just decided it was a good time to have it up on streaming and maybe kind of make a bit of a positive impact within our own community," Tenove said.
"A lot of us are still affected by what happened and this feels for myself and Barry Mason, the other remaining member from the band, it feels like a special way to honour our departed friends."
Tenove says the past decade has not been easy, but support from friends and family, and therapy, have helped immensely.
"It gets to this point, 10 years later, where it feels OK, we're ready to revisit this and maybe do some more healing to get to a point that we can feel better," he said.
Tenove has gone on to help start the Prophets of Music Society, created to honour Hunter and Rathwell.
The not-for-profit group was started by members of Hunter's family and invests in emerging artists and local communities, and honours the power of music.
Gregg Perras is Kaiti's father.
Recalling the past 10 years from a family home in Arizona, he says the years that go by do not get any easier.
"To put it in the background, it's pretty difficult to do that," he said.
"They were hanging out with all their friends, having a great time."
Perras reflects on all the advocacy he has done on his daughter's behalf since her death.
He says he's most proud of the Quinterra Legacy Garden in South Glenmore Park, which is an interactive musical garden that pays tribute to all five young adults.
It offers Perras peace in his healing journey.
"They can't speak for themselves," he said.
"She was a very strong person and it's important to keep that legacy going."
A court determined de Grood had been living with undiagnosed schizophrenia at the time of the killings, and he has since been under psychiatric care.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING 120 active fires burning across Canada, 30 are 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
BREAKING B.C. parents sentenced to 15 years for death of 6-year-old boy
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old boy who died from blunt-force trauma in 2018 to 15 years in prison.
Legislative speaker cuts ties with Sask. Party, alleges he faced threats, harassment from gov't MLAs
The Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature Randy Weekes has severed ties with the Sask. Party after accusing some members of harassment and intimidation tactics, including a situation he claimed saw the Government House Leader bring a hunting rifle to the legislative building.
Kevin Spacey receives star support as he fights to get his career back
Kevin Spacey is pushing back on the 'rush to judgment' against him and is being backed by some big names as he seeks to reclaim his acting career.
A Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her. His lawyers argue it wasn't murder
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
Father charged with second-degree murder in daughter's stabbing death southwest of Montreal
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
The latest advice for expecting parents? Sign up for childcare as soon as you're pregnant
Canada's new $10-a-day child care program is expanding, but there's growing evidence that demand for the program is rising even faster, leaving many parents on the outside looking in.