A preliminary hearing for two men accused of murdering a Castor-area family is set to begin in Red Deer court next Monday.

Jason Gordon Klaus has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson in relation to the deaths of his father Gordon Klaus, 61, his mother Sandra Klaus, 62 and his sister Monica Klaus, 40, in December 2013.

Joshua Gregory Frank has also been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in relation to the deaths as well as one count of arson and one count of injuring or endangering an animal in relation to the shooting death of the family dog.

The preliminary hearing will determine whether or not there is enough evidence to hold a trial.

The remains of Gordon and Monica were found in what was left of a burnt-out house in Castor on Dec. 8th, 2013. The body of Sandra has never been found and during a press conference in Calgary in 2014, RCMP Insp. Tony Hamori, operations officer for the Calgary RCMP Major Crimes Unit, said police believe her remains were consumed by the fire.

Hamori added Jason was arrested in August 2014 at Monica’s residence in Stettler while Frank was arrested at his brother’s residence in Castor.

He said the arrests were made after a “Key piece of evidence” was found by an RCMP dive team from B.C. in Big Knife Provincial Park during a dive on July 26th and July 27th, 2014. He said that evidence played a major role in laying the charges against the two suspects.

efawcett@reddeerexpress.com