A Brampton father has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of his two young sons who were found dead inside their suburban home late Wednesday night.Police received a call for medical assistance from inside the home on Hiberton Crescent, a residential street near Sandalwood Parkway West and Creditview Road around 10:55 p.m. Wednesday night. Officers found two boys, 12 and 9, dead in the home. The Peel homicide squad took over the investigation after the boys’ deaths were deemed suspicious, Peel police Const. Heather Cannon told reporters at the scene.“We didn’t find any obvious signs of trauma to the children. It was a bit later on that it was determined to be a suspicious death,” she said, announcing that police had charged Edwin Bastidas, 52, with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his sons. Police have not yet named the boys, nor released their cause of death. At the scene, neighbour Paula Da Silva identified the boys who lived at the home Jonathan Bastidas, 12, and Nicolas Bastidas, 9.“They’re a wonderful family,” said Da Silva, who said she is the boys’ teacher at a before and after school program. “I can’t even process it,” she said.According to his Facebook page, Bastidas is the father of the boys Da Silva identified.In a statement, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board confirmed both boys attended the nearby St. Bonaventure Catholic Elementary School. “Members of the DPCDSB’s Tragic Events Response Team are in attendance at the school to provide support and counselling for students and staff,” the board said. “Prayers have been offered for the two students, their families and friends as well as the entire St. Bonaventure community. The flag at the school has also been lowered to half-staff in memory of the two students. A letter is being sent to all St. Bonaventure families today.”The boys are the 24th and 25th victims ...
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