George Varghese is living a nightmare.
"I wake up every day thinking it's not true," said Varghese. "Then it sinks in: I'm never going to see my mother and sister again."
His mother, Saramma Varghese, 65, and sister Susan John, 43, were found fatally stabbed in their Toronto home on Thanksgiving. His niece, Sara John, 20, escaped with cuts and bruises.
Nathaniel O'Brien, 31, who lived next door, was arrested soon after and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. He had been out on bail since March while facing charges of sexual assault stemming from two incidents.
"We want to know why this happened," said Varghese.
The family's quest for answers starts at a rally at Queens's Park tomorrow. A petition, signed by about 3,000 people demanding a public inquiry to find out why they weren't told of the accused's violent history before he moved to the area, will be given to Premier Dalton McGuinty. A copy will be given to Prime Minister Stephen Harper next week, said Prince Mookkanottil, a priest at St. George Syriac Orthodox Church in Brampton and chair of the campaign.
"We don't want anything like this to happen again," said Mookkanottil. "These people were killed in their own home. It's tough to carry on with life without any answers."
It's even tougher for Sara, who is still terrorized.
Varghese, who lives in Philadelphia, said his niece hasn't returned to school and has no clue when she'll be ready. Sara is a second-year York University English major. He said she is so frightened she can't be left alone even for a few minutes.
Sara hasn't talked much about what happened that morning.
"But she said there was never any problem with the neighbours," he said. Varghese, who often visited his mother, said if there had been any kind of stress, "Susan would have told me. We were very close."
Sara hasn't gone back her Rotary Dr. home either. "I went (to the house) a couple of weeks ago to get some clothes she needed," said Varghese. "I don't know if the house will be sold but I don't think she'll go back to that neighbourhood."
Varghese said it was very painful to enter the house and that there were apparent signs of a struggle. "I could clearly picture (where) my mother used to sit and where Susan would walk around while chatting."
He had visited them in August and had spoken to his mother and sister a day before the incident. "We used to chat at least three times a week. They were the two most important women in my life," he said.
On Thanksgiving morning, he called them but when no one answered, he left a message.
A few hours later, he learned they were dead. "We couldn't and still can't believe what happened."
Varghese will be at the rally and is trying to convince Sara to attend. "We both lost our mothers. I think we owe it to them to get answers."
