SAGUENAY, Que. - Crime-scene technicians combed a bungalow north of Quebec City on Friday looking for clues into the deaths of a man and three school-aged children.
The four bodies were found after a woman made a panicked 911call late Thursday night.
The woman was taken to hospital suffering from injuries and was described by police as an "important witness."
"We no longer fear for her life," said Saguenay police spokesman Bruno Cormier, adding he didn't know the relationship between the woman and the victims.
"We'll let her get herself together and, when possible, we will interview her as she's an important witness to this scene."
She was recovering in hospital in Saguenay, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City.
Police remained mum on the ages of the five people, how they were related to one another and on possible motivations for the crime.
Cormier said it was the woman, found seriously injured at the home, who alerted police.
"The woman who called was in distress, asking for help and asking for police to come to the home," Cormier said.
"On site, the officers noticed the woman was injured and after we found four people dead in the home."
Investigators were talking to friends and relatives of the victims in the hope of piecing together just what happened, Cormier said.
Shell-shocked neighbours said they did not know the family well as they had only moved to the neighbourhood a few months ago.
"They hadn't lived here more than six months, but I think they rented their home and they were from somewhere else in the Saguenay area before moving here," said Alexandre Dube, whose parents live across the street from the crime scene.
Dube described the home as being in a quiet, residential sector in Saguenay's Chicoutimi borough.
Another neighbour said the family was easily recognizable as the clan included three school-aged children who were often seen playing in the neighbourhood.
"We didn't know them very well, but we saw the children often," said the neighbour, who did not want to be identified.
Police did not release the names of the victims.
Quebec provincial police were assisting the Saguenay police in their investigation.
