Mother and 3 young children slain in Tisdale, Sask.
Male homicide suspect found dead in Prince Albert
A mother and three children from Tisdale, Sask., were found slain and police say a suspect in the killings has also been found dead.
Police have not released the names, but family members confirmed the woman who died is LaTasha Gosling, 27.
Her children include two girls, Janayah, 4, and Jenika, 8, and a boy, Landen, 7, who have the same surname.
Police made the grim discovery in a mobile home around 1 a.m. CST Wednesday in the east-central Saskatchewan town.
The male suspect was tracked to a home in Prince Albert, and when police entered the premises at 6:20 a.m, they found him dead, RCMP said.
Police would not say how the man died, but said his death was not a homicide.
A six-month-old baby was found with him. The baby is now being cared for by family.
There were two other adults in the house where the man's body was found, but they won't be charged, police said.
Family members are struggling with the tragic news.
"Very, very devastating finding out my sister and the kids are actually really dead and they're not coming back," Laura Gross told CBC News Wednesday. "That's been very, very difficult for me."
The family has turned to social media for support. A fundraising page was created to help with the costs of a funeral and travel for family members.
"We, the family of the victims of this senseless crime, are reaching out to the world around us in our hour of need," the GoFundMe page says. Within a few hours of being created, the campaign passed its goal of raising $5,000.
Police have not said what the relationship was between the dead man and Gosling and her children, but said they were known to each other.
CBC News has learned from multiple sources that the suspected killer and the victim were in a relationship. However, the status of the relationship, at the time of the deaths, was not precisely known. CBC News has also confirmed that the infant child found at the home in Prince Albert was the child of the suspect and Gosling.
The woman and her children had been reported missing the day before.
'Hard-working young family'
A woman who along with her husband owns Wicks' Mobile Home Park on the north side of the town said a young couple and children had been staying there. Police confirmed that's where the woman and three children died.
"I believe it was in one of my trailers 'cause right now as I look — I have a store right across from there — and I can see several police cars sitting there with yellow tape around the trailer," said Laurie, who didn't want her last name published.
She described them as a "hard-working young family" and said the father had recently been laid off from his job in the Alberta oilpatch.
"They were very quiet and I had no problems with them at all," she said. "They were very good, very quiet. No neighbours complained about them."
Tisdale, a town of 3,200 people, is about 211 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
News of the deaths sent shock waves through the town and the province.
"Just tremendous shock … can't believe it," Tisdale Mayor Al Jellicoe said. "It's never happened before."
People in the community were horrified by the news.
"It makes me sick to my stomach," neighbour Lorna Townsend said. "Who could do that to children?"
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall posted a comment on Twitter.
"Our thoughts and prayers to the family, friends and community dealing with the indescribable tragedy," Wall wrote.
