The man accused of killing three people at a Lethbridge townhouse at the end of April appeared in court on Thursday and still needs to hire a lawyer to represent him before the case can move forward.

It was an emotional day in court for the family of the victims as Austin Vielle appeared by closed circuit television from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre.

Vielle is charged with three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Kyle Devine, Clarissa English and Dakota English.

The three were found stabbed to death at a home on McGill Boulevard on April 28th after police were called for a check on welfare.

Kyle Devine's family wore Chicago Bulls’ clothing and colours to court, to honour his love of the NBA team and show their solidarity as they faced his accused killer.

The family of Kyle Devine is devastated by his death and says they were shocked by the arrest of Vielle.

“Austin was one of his friends so to be honest, to hear his name, it was a shocking, it was a shock,” said Ian Devine, Kyle’s brother.

“I couldn't believe the brutality that was imposed on my son. I just about didn’t recognize him. I had to take at least three or four looks and even then I was still not 100 percent sure,” said Allen Devine, Kyle’s father.

Police say Vielle was with the three in the hours before their deaths.

Vielle was previously charged with assault with a weapon and uttering threats after a fight with Devine earlier that month and despite that, the Devine family believed the two were friends.

They even made Vielle a pall bearer at Devine's funeral, which is something they still struggle with.

“I still look at that thinking, what did we do Kyle? I mean, so I honestly want to take it back to the funeral home and have it recopied and have his name completely erased off of it,” said Ian.

It was also a difficult day for the English family.

Clarissa and Dakota's mother says it's important to be in court but she hopes the case is dealt with quickly.

“When they read his charges, I was watching his face, it didn’t even affect him at all, he didn’t even flinch and he seemed so unremorseful for what he did,” said Laurie English. “I know that all three of them have a lot of people that really care and love them and it does come to show and it feels good. If it wasn’t for all of our support from our families and that we wouldn't be able to get through this alone.”

Vielle still needs to hire a lawyer before the case can move forward and is scheduled to be back in court on June 4th.

(With files from Kaella Carr)