Two men convicted of triple murder near Castor ineligible for parole for 25 years

Castor triple murder sentencing Two men convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of three people will soon learn if they will be allowed out of prison ever again.

On Wednesday, Justice Eric Macklin set the parole eligibility for the two men convicted of killing a Castor area family in 2013 at the minimum for first-degree murder.

Last month, Jason Klaus, 42, and Joshua Frank, 32, were found guilty of three counts each of first-degree murder in the deaths of Gordan Klaus, Sandra Klaus and Monica Klaus.

It is believed that the three victims were shot before the family’s home, east of Red Deer, was set on fire.

The remains of Gordon and Monica were found in the debris of the burned out home but Sandra was unaccounted for and police think her body was also in the home. The victims were Jason Klaus' father, mother and sister.

A conviction of first-degree murder comes with an automatic life sentence and the Crown in the case had asked for no chance of parole for 75 years for both men.

Justice Macklin ruled that 50 or 75 years of parole ineligibility was neither justifiable nor appropriate as there was no evidence from the trial that indicated Frank or Klaus would reoffend in 25 years as neither had a criminal record prior to the triple-murder.

Klaus and Frank will serve their sentences concurrently.

With files from CTV's Tyson Fedor