A photo of Nathaniel Carrier leaving Court of Queen's Bench on Wednesday. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

Guilty pleas entered in Prince Albert triple homicide

Jan 26, 2022 | 11:00 AM

A trial will no longer be required for a man responsible for the death of his parents and young son.

Nathaniel Carrier has entered guilty pleas to one count of first degree murder in connection to the death of his son, two counts of second degree murder in connection to the deaths of his parents, as well as one count of attempted murder involving his young daughter, who was five at the time of the incident on March 28, 2020. Heather Sumners, the mother of the two children, watched the proceedings through a video link from her home, and told paNOW it was very hard hearing the words come from Carrier’s mouth.

“Immediately when the video started my heart just started racing because it was the first time seeing him in almost two years. It’s just a shock,” she said.

Sandra Henry and Denis Carrier lived at the house on MacArthur Drive, along with their son Nathaniel. The two young grandchildren (Bentlee and Kendrah) had been left in his care for the weekend, as had been done on multiple occasions previously as per a verbal agreement.

Three days later (Sunday), the two adults and seven-year-old Bentlee were found deceased, and Kendrah was rushed to hospital in Edmonton, where she remained for nearly two months and underwent a number of surgeries before returning to Prince Albert.

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A photo taken of Kendrah at the time of the special parade in her honour. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

A photo taken of Denis Carrier and Sandra Henry, with their grandson Bentlee. (Submitted photo/Sherry McLennan)

The case was initially set to be tried by judge and jury, and Carrier appeared calm and confident when entering the guilty pleas Wednesday morning at Court of Queen’s Bench in Prince Albert. Family members have been anxiously waiting for the case to move forward, and Sumners confirmed the hearing brings them closer.

“It’s definitely a first step to closure for both sides of the family, not just my side,” she said.

The court case has been adjourned to April 13 for sentencing. This will allow time for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. This will also allow the justice hearing the case, the opportunity to consider Carrier’s personal history as well as a psychological assessment.

In addition to the numerous family members in court to hear the pleas, four representatives from the Prince Albert Police Service were in attendance to show support to the family.

“I was glad they were there because they are the support for the whole community, not just us,” she said. “It was hard enough doing video from home but having the support in court was very nice,” Sumners said.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell