A man who lost his entire family in a farm fire east of Castor just weeks before Christmas is devastated about the deaths and tired of the suspicions.
“There are all kinds of rumours,” Jason Klaus, 38, said on Dec. 23, a few hours after police announced they consider the deaths of his father and sister as suspicious and that his mother remained unaccounted for.
“People say all kinds of things.”
Police said that while they’re now treating the deaths of two people identified in the rubble as suspicious, they weren’t calling it a homicide — as of Christmas holiday press time last week.
The Calgary Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the remains of Gordon Klaus, 61, and his daughter, Monica Klaus, 40. Gordon’s wife, Sandra, 62, hadn’t been accounted for, said Staff Sgt. Ron Campbell of the RCMP K Division out of Edmonton.
“Investigators are treating these deaths as suspicious, and the investigation is ongoing,” he said in a Dec. 23 news release.
Coronation RCMP were called to a farmyard at about 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8.
The fire smouldered for days, preventing investigators, including Calgary Major Crimes, from accessing the fire scene for almost a week.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the provincial fire investigator, said Sgt. Josee Valiquette from Edmonton K Division.
In an interview with the Castor Advance last week, Jason Klaus said, “There are no words” to describe his losses.
“We did everything together. We farmed together. We hunted together. We did everything together. They were my best friends.”
Jason Klaus, who lives across the field from his parents’ home, told the Edmonton Journal last week that he became suspicious after he learned that his parents’ truck was found parked near the Battle River, near Alliance, on the Sunday that the fire broke out, but added that they hadn’t gone out the night before.
He also said that people reported seeing a man walking on the deserted highway the night before the fire. Police didn’t confirm that report.
Jason Klaus had farmed with his father. Sandra Klaus, whose parents Lowell and Janette Berry live in Halkirk, worked at Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital in Castor.
Monica Klaus lived in Stettler, where she worked at Vortex Production Services Ltd. in payroll and human resources. Friends said she frequently visited with her parents on weekends.