The man believed responsible for murdering a mother and her three children in Tisdale, Sask., took pictures of the bodies and sent them to the children’s biological father, according to a relative of the victims.
Latasha Gosling, 27, and her children Jenika, 8, Landen, 7, and Janayah, 4, were found dead early Wednesday morning inside a mobile home.
The sole suspect in the murder, Gosling's boyfriend Steve O’Shaughnessy, was found dead at his parents' Prince Albert home, about 130 kilometres away.
Gosling and O’Shaughnessy had one child, a six-month-old, whom O’Shaughnessy had taken to Prince Albert. The baby was found unharmed and is now in the care of other family members.
Gosling's cousin Tim Funk said the suspect took photos of her and the three children after they had been murdered, and sent the photos to the children's biological father. After receiving the pictures, the father called the RCMP.
Outside the Wicks’ Mobile Home Park residence Thursday, a hockey net and bicycles sat abandoned while forensic investigators went in and out of the home, gathering evidence and trying to piece together what happened.
CTV's Jill Macyshon says the community has been "ripped apart" by the tragedy.
"Children lived here and that is what has hit this community so hard, the fact that three children, three of their own, have been lost just so suddenly," she said while standing outside the home, which has cordoned off by police tape.
Police have not released a motive in the killings.
A statement released by O’Shaughnessy's family on Thursday said he did not have a history of violence, but he had struggled with mental health issues.
"We will likely never know why this senseless act occurred," said the statement. "The Gosling family does not deserve this."
Macyshon says she spoke to Latasha's father Wednesday and he told her that domestic violence needs to be taken more seriously.
She added that the principal at the children's school, Tisdale Elementary, spent Wednesday going class to class, talking to students about what happened.
Tammy Glenn, whose child was friends with four-year-old Janayah, said her daughter is struggling to deal with her grief and stayed home from school on Thursday.
"She goes: 'I miss Janayah … Mommy, I can't (go to school),'" Glenn told CTV Saskatoon.
"It's hard … she asks every day for Janayah to come home," she added.
On Wednesday, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall called the incident an "indescribable tragedy."
Tisdale Mayor Al Jellicoe also expressed "profound grief" for the victims and family.
"We’re a very close-knit community and when a tragic event happens here, it affects us all," Jellicoe said.
The family has set up a GoFundMe webpage to help pay the costs of funeral arrangements. By Thursday evening, more than $45,000 had been raised.
The funeral and a candlelight vigil are set to take place next week.
Gosling’s cousin Tim Funk, who set up the page, says his family is thankful for all the love and support that has been shown already.
He also wrote on Facebook that any money left over will be put into a trust fund for the surviving infant.
With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV Saskatoon's Sarah Plowman
