The Canadian Press
Lauren Krugel
CALGARY–A man and two sisters found dead in a burned-out car may not have been the intended targets in what Calgary police are describing as a brutal and ruthless quadruple homicide.
Investigators are exploring the possibility that Cody Pfeiffer, 25, Glynnis Fox, 36, and Tiffany Ear, 39, were “simply at the wrong place and at the wrong time with the wrong people,” acting Insp. Paul Wozney said yesterday.
Lorenzo Ear, the younger brother of the two women, said his sisters leave behind 16 children between them.
“The younger ones, they don’t know yet,” he noted.
“That’s going to be something that we as family are going to have to find out how to explain to them, that their mothers are no longer around.”
The bodies of Pfeiffer, Fox, and Ear were found Monday after firefighters extinguished a burning 2011 Chevrolet Cruze at a construction site in a new subdivision on Calgary’s northwestern edge.
Wozney, with the major crimes unit, said it’s believed the Cruze’s owner, Hanock Afowerk, 26, was the target.
Police confirmed Afowerk was found dead in a rural area west of Calgary on Wednesday and that it was a homicide.
They earlier had appealed to the public for help finding him and expressed concern for his safety.
It’s possible Fox and Ear–from the Stoney Nakoda Nation west of Calgary–were caught up in a targeted attack against Afowerk, police said.
All four victims suffered significant traumatic injuries but Wozney declined to elaborate.
“I will say that it . . . certainly has been surprising to some very seasoned investigators.”
Police believe multiple people may have been involved and it’s possible there are several different crime scenes.
“We know that there’s people in the community that have information regarding this event,” Wozney said.
“We know that people know what happened.
“If they’re scared, if they are in any way hesitant to contact us, they can do so anonymously through Crime Stoppers or through our tip line,” he added.
It appears the sisters got to know Pfeiffer and Afowerk recently, Wozney said.
Lorenzo Ear said his sisters were generous, caring, and kind mothers who loved their children.
Tiffany had nine, and recently had become a grandmother.
“I believe she really enjoyed that role,” Ear said. “Even though it made her seem a little bit older, she was still happy.”
Glynnis had seven children and was about to become a grandmother when she died.
Both women were working on upgrading their education, their brother said, adding Tiffany loved books while Glynnis had a passion for learning about First Nations’ culture.
They wanted to one day find jobs as teachers or in other professions that would allow them to help people, he noted.
An aunt who did not want her name published said in an e-mail that Tiffany had been through a lot and struggled to make ends meet at times.
“She kept her head up, always positive, and recently completed a treatment program in December of 2016 and changed her life around,” the aunt said.
