ST-ROMAIN, Que. - A 35-year-old Quebec man has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his mother and his two young nieces.
Pascal Morin is accused of killing his 70-year-old mother and her two granddaughters, ages eight and 11, in a home in St-Romain, a village in Quebec's Eastern Townships.
Quebec provincial police were called to the residence around 6 p.m. Friday.
Police say Morin was arrested at the scene and taken in for questioning.
Martine Asselin, a spokeswoman for the police force, said Morin was charged in a Sherbrooke, Que. court Saturday afternoon.
Police haven't identified the victims.
Asselin wouldn't disclose how they died, saying only it did not involve a gun.
News of the deaths spread quickly through the community of about 600.
"We are all shocked," said Michelle Lessard, owner of a local restaurant where residents had gathered Saturday.
"These are people we know well, and we like them a lot."
A neighbour, Gaetan Jacques, said he was taught by the woman when he was younger.
"This kind of thing happens elsewhere," Jacques said. "But when this kind of thing happens here, it's a surprise."
St-Romain is about 240 kilometres east of Montreal.
