Baby lone survivor as five killed in home
Relative made grisly discovery in northwest Calgary neighbourhood
Jason van Rassel, Stephane Massinon and Richard Cuthbertson, with files from Joel Kom, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, May 29, 2008

A relative picking up a child for school Wednesday morning stumbled upon one of the city's worst mass killings in decades: a married couple, two of their daughters and a female tenant slain inside a northwest Calgary home.

Amid the carnage, however, the couple's one-year-old daughter was found unharmed.

Why the infant was spared injury -- and who among the dead may be responsible for the killing spree -- are two key questions that remain unanswered as homicide investigators try to piece together what unfolded inside the home in the 5500 block of Dalhart Hill N.W.


Four of the five dead are part of a young family.

Joshua Lall, 34, his wife, Alison, 35, and their two daughters, Kristen, 51/2, and Rochelle, 31/2, were the epitome of a happy clan, said family friend Jennifer Klein. The Lalls had just visited Klein and her family three weeks ago in Edmonton, Klein said, and there wasn't a hint of discord. "Over a weekend, you can't hide (marital problems)," Klein said. "You can't be on your good manners all the time. There wasn't even a hot temper." The Lalls' baby, Anna -- who survived the killings -- had celebrated her first birthday less than a month ago, Klein added. A female renter, believed to be in her 30s, was also killed. Several friends identified the tenant as Amber Bowerman, who worked in the publishing industry.

Although technology and investigative know-how can allow police to piece together how the killings occurred, having an infant as the only surviving witness means the answer to the most pressing question of all -- why -- may never be completely known. "There's no doubt in a crime scene like that; we won't have all the answers," police Chief Rick Hanson said. What investigators were able to say with certainty Wednesday is that the killings are the result of a domestic situation and police are not seeking any suspects. "There's a significant amount of work that has to be done," Hanson said. "As it stands right now, the preliminary indications are this is a domestic homicide."

Joshua Lall was an architect who worked for Cohos Evamy, a well-known Calgary firm; Alison Lall was trained as an occupational therapist. Hanson said investigators had not turned up any record of police being at the home prior to Wednesday. Neighbours said the family had lived in the neighbourhood for about four years and one of their children attended a kindergarten program at the Dalhousie Community Association. "The family was so loving. (The father) was soft-spoken. Wherever he was, he always had his kids with him, he was always hugging them," said Mia Albino, who lives down the block. "It just strikes me as weird."

Another nearby resident, Rod Schlachter, said the father was a well-dressed professional who took the bus to work. The University of Calgary graduate was also an avid runner. "They're an active family, no doubt about that," Schlachter said.

The killings came to light Wednesday morning when a relative showed up at the house and no one answered the door. "My understanding is the person did enter the house briefly and called police to assist," Hanson said. Several police cars and an ambulance soon converged on the home.

It was at this point that neighbours began to notice something was wrong down the street. When officers and paramedics didn't appear to be rendering medical assistance or searching for anyone, Dennis Beliveau said he realized something horrible had happened. "They just stopped and didn't seem to be chasing anyone -- which is never a good sign," said Beliveau, who lives down the street. Paramedics rushed the baby to an ambulance for treatment, but she required little more than some water and the attention of emergency workers.

"She's doing a lot better than I am," said duty inspector Frank Reuser, a 35-year police veteran whose voice broke often as he relayed the facts to reporters Wednesday morning. "Children -- a one-year-old child, a four- and a six-year-old child. . . . What impact would it have on you? You know very well," Reuser said.

Although investigators weren't specific about what they found inside the house, the scene was traumatic enough to prompt police and EMS to summon counselling for the officers and paramedics who initially responded to the call.

"After we made sure the baby's OK -- and it looks that way -- then we turned our attention to the emergency workers," EMS spokesman Paul Lapointe said. "They did an amazing job of staying focused."

The Dalhousie killings are the worst mass murder in Calgary since 1988, when Raymond Russell Rafuse shot and stabbed four people following a drinking party at a home in the city's northwest.

Uniformed police officers kept watch outside the Lalls' house for several hours Wednesday afternoon as investigators awaited a necessary search warrant allowing them to go back inside and begin examining the scene in detail. By late afternoon, crime scene specialists in white jumpsuits began working in the home. The bodies of the victims were taken Wednesday evening to the medical examiner's office, where autopsies may yield more evidence about how they died.

As police officers pored over the house throughout the night, people began paying their respects. Ed Tanas, who didn't know the victims, brought a bouquet of flowers. Police tape surrounding the Lalls' and neighbours' homes prevented him from placing the bouquet any closer, but an officer accepted the flowers and put them near the home.

jvanrassel@theherald.canwest.com

smassinon@theherald.canwest.cm

rcuthbertson@theherald.canwest.com