Jason Klaus and Joshua Frank remained emotionless when Justice Eric Macklin read the verdict at the Red Deer Provincial Court on Wednesday: guilty, on all three counts of first degree murder in the death of Klaus's parents Gordon and Sandra, as well as his sister Monica in December of 2013.

Frank and Klaus's stories of what happened that night changed multiple times, but Crown prosecutors argued that the only true version of what happened that night, were given by Klaus to an undercover agent in June of 2014, and then by both men to a different undercover cop a few weeks later.

It’s a complicated story, involving allegations of abuse between the two guilty parties, cheque forging, and drug abuse, but in the end three people and two dogs were dead, and a family farm house in the county of Paintearth, about 15km southwest of Castor, was burned to the ground to try and hide the evidence.

Justice Macklin said that if it wasn't for the fact that the families dog, Keela, was also shot and killed outside of the home that night, they may have never have realized it was a murder scene. When firefighters arrived at the house fire they found Keela dead outside, along with a red plastic jerry can that was two-thirds full, and two 9 mm shell casings.  

Eventually the two men did show some emotion in court, which came during the victim impact statements when Klaus's aunt, uncle and cousins spoke about the immense loss and betrayal they continue to deal with since their nightmare began in the early morning hours of December 8th.

Klaus’s cousin Nicole Thomson described it as, "drowning in grief and anger", as Klaus dabbed his eyes while Frank stared down at the floor.

Lawyer for Klaus Allan Fay, commented on Klaus's state of mind after learning he had been found guilty.

“Well my client has been convicted of killing three people, when he has maintained he did not. He is now facing potentially a 75 year before parole sentence. Understandably he is quite upset.”

Frank's attorney Tonii Roulston says her client had a similar reaction to the verdict.

“Joshua is shocked, it’s a bit surreal for him at this time. The family is upset, not only the Klaus family but the Frank family. They have been very supportive throughout this whole process.”

Crown Prosecutor Douglas Taylor thanked police for their hard work outside the Red Deer courthouse.

“The reason we are standing here today and able to talk about justice, and about the verdicts that came down in this case, and it’s because the men and women of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police outdid themselves on this one and left no stone unturned, and they did exactly what they told Jason Klaus they were going to do, they were going to make this a front burner investigation and that it was their top priority, and that they did.”

The crown is seeking concurrent sentences for both men on all charges, meaning they could possibly be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for 75 years.

A sentencing hearing will be held in Red Deer on January 22nd at 10am.