Infant spared in quadruple murder
Mother and three children killed, man abducts baby then kills himself
TISDALE, Sask.— RCMP say they believe a man killed a woman and her three children in a mobile home here, but spared a six-month-old infant whom he drove 130 kilometres to Prince Albert, Sask., before killing himself. “It’s devastating. They didn’t deserve this,” said Trevor Davis, who lives in a trailer three doors down from the murder scene in Wicks’ Mobile Home Park on the edge of Tisdale, about 210 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
The dead are 27-year-old mother Latasha Gosling, and her children, Jenika, 8, Landen, 7, and Janayah, 4, according to cousin Tim Funk.
A neighbour confirmed the identity of the woman as 27-year-old Latasha Gosling, who, according to media reports, has children aged eight, seven and four.
The infant was not injured and is now cared for by family members, RCMP spokeswoman Mandy Maier said Wednesday.
Police were called around suppertime Tuesday after the woman and children hadn’t been heard from all day and could not be reached. Their bodies were found in the trailer about six hours later. Police have not revealed how they died.
Maier said an investigation led officers to the suspect in Prince Albert where the infant and two adults were found alive in a home. She said the suspect was known to the victims but could not give more details about their relationship or a motive for the deaths.
“There is no risk to public safety and investigators do not anticipate laying any criminal charges relating to these four deaths,” Maier said.
RCMP have not released the names of any victims, or the name of the deceased suspect.
According to Davis and neighbour Lorna Townsend, the three children found dead in Tisdale were the woman’s from a previous relationship. The deceased man and woman had the surviving infant together, the neighbours said.
Davis and Townsend said the family’s children could often be seen biking or playing in the alley or adjacent field with neighbourhood children.
Davis said police were rarely called to the neighbourhood but they had come to the same trailer several days ago. Screaming and yelling could be heard inside the trailer at that time, he said.
“It’s a shocker,” said the manager of the Wicks’ Mobile Home Park, declining to be identified.
He said the woman and children had been living in a rental trailer for the past eight months, along with her husband and an infant.
He said the husband of the dead woman was also at the trailer when the RCMP arrived about 1 a.m. Wednesday and appeared distraught.
In a prepared statement, Mayor Al Jellicoe expressed “profound grief” for the victims and family of “this tragic and shocking incident. “Tisdale is a close-knit community and anytime a tragic event occurs which involves loss of life, we feel it all.”
Tisdale Councillor Alex Brown said the news hit the community hard. “Obviously we’re devastated. … It’s terrible news,” said Brown. “This is not a common occurrence in the community.”
Obviously we’re devastated.... It’s terrible news. This is not a common occurrence in the community.
ALEX BROWN TISDALE COUNCILLOR