Parents plead for return of plaque honouring Brentwood 5 massacre victims in Calgary

Calgary police are looking for a bronze plaque honouring the Brentwood Five, which was recently discovered missing by the mom of one of the victims killed at a house party in 2014.

Nearly 12 years after the death of his daughter, Gregg Perras still marks her birthday quietly, sitting in her chair in the Quinterra Legacy Garden while looking out over the Glenmore Reservoir in southwest Calgary.

“It was such a beautiful day. She would have loved that it was so sunny out,” Perras said.

“I like to come here on her birthday, so I came, and I sat in her chair, and I just looked out.”

The garden in South Glenmore Park honours the “Brentwood Five” — college-aged friends Jordan Segura, Josh Hunter, Kaiti Perras, Zachariah Rathwell and Lawrence Hong — who were killed at an end-of-year party in Calgary’s Brentwood neighbourhood in April 2014.

Matthew de Grood was found not criminally responsible for the homicides due to a mental disorder.

The garden, located at 90 Avenue and 24 Street S.W., opened in 2021. It features permanent outdoor musical instrument fixtures and a stage, which serves as a place to appreciate music and the arts, as well as to heal and remember those lives.

For the families of the massacre victims, the space has become a place of reflection and connection rather than closure.

“It gives me peace, not closure — not total closure — but a sense that we have done something for our five children,” said Marlene Hong, Lawrence’s mother.