Matthew de Grood to stand trial in fatal Calgary stabbings

MatthewdeGrood, the man accused of stabbing five people to death at a Calgary house party, has been committed to stand trial on five counts of first-degree murder.

The 23-year-oldwas arrested a short distance fromthe party last April and has been held in custody since. He was ordered to stand trial following a preliminary hearing that ended Friday morning.

• Matthew de Grood preliminary hearing begins in Calgary stabbings case
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Lawrence Hong, 27, Joshua Hunter, 23, Kaitlin Perras, 23, Zackariah Rathwell, 21, and Jordan Segura, 22, were killed in theattack that shocked the city. They had been celebrating the end of university classes when the stabbings occurred.

"This is the worst mass murder in Calgary's history," Calgary police Chief Rick Hanson told reporters last year.

DeGroodwas an invited guest at the house party inBrentwood, which is located near the University of Calgary.

The courtroom was filled to standing room onlyasfriends and family members of the victims, as well as theparents of the accused, heard provincial court Judge J.D. Holmes announce his decision.

With the preliminaryhearing complete, the case now moves to the Court of Queens Benchwhere a date for a trial will be scheduled at a hearing on May 29.

A publication ban covers all evidence presented at the preliminaryhearing.

An early mental health assessment found de Grood fit to stand trial, meaning he understands the legal process.

He also underwent at least two subsequentpsychiatric assessmentsthat examined whether he couldbe found not criminally responsible.

The doctors' findingsare covered by the publication ban.