10 years after the Brentwood massacre, the music of the Calgary band is being heard again

On the morning of April 15, 2014, five friends were stabbed to death at a house party in Brentwood – a move that shook Calgary.

Caity Perras, Lawrence Hong, Jordan Segura, Zakaria Rathwell and Josh Hunter were killed by Matthew de Grood, who was found not criminally responsible (NCR).

Monday marks the 10th anniversary of their deaths.

Kyle Tenov was in the band with Rathwell and Hunter.

Playing to a sold-out crowd at the Palomino in Calgary, the band had no idea of ​​the tragedy that was about to happen.

On April 12, 2014, Zakaria and the Prophets released a six-song EP.

“Four best friends are having the time of their lives,” Tenov said.

“We recorded it on a small farm in Lethbridge.”

Rathwell was lead vocalist and guitarist, Barry Mason was lead guitar, Hunter played drums and Tenov was on bass.

All four met in high school at Bishop Carroll and suddenly became friends.

The two surviving members of this group, Tenov and Mason, both continue their musical careers in other projects.

But the pair say they want to remember their bandmates and reissue the EP – a remastered version – to mark the 10th anniversary of its first release.

“We decided it was a good time to broadcast it and maybe we could make some positive impact in our community,” Tenove said.

“A lot of us are still affected by what happened, and for me and the other remaining member of the band, Barry Mason, it feels like a special way to honor our departed friends.”

According to Tenova, the last decade has not been easy, but the support of friends and family and therapy have helped a lot.

“It gets to this point, 10 years from now, where it feels good, and we're ready to revisit it and do more treatments to get to a point where we feel good,” he said.

Tenove went on to help found the Society of Music Prophets, which was created to honor Hunter and Rathwell.

The non-profit group was started by members of the Hunter family and invests in emerging artists and local communities and celebrates the power of music.

Gregg Perras is Kaity's father.

Looking back on the 10 years that have passed since the family home in Arizona, he says that the passing years will not be easy.

“To put it on the back burner, it's very hard to do,” he said.

“They were having a great time with all their friends.”

Perras reflects on all the advocacy work she has done on her daughter's behalf since her death.

She says she's proud of the Quinterra Legacy Garden in South Glenmore Park, an interactive music garden that pays tribute to all five young adults.

It offers Perras peace in his healing journey.

“They cannot speak for themselves.

“He was a very strong man and it's important to continue that legacy.”

The court found that de Grood was living with undiagnosed schizophrenia at the time of the murder, and he has been under psychiatric supervision ever since.