A preliminary hearing for the Calgary man accused of killing five people at a house party last spring began Monday in provincial court.

The judge ordered a publication ban on evidence presented at Matthew de Grood's hearing, which is expected to last about a week.

De Grood, 23, is charged with five counts of first-degree-murder.

At a party celebrating the end of university classes last April, Lawrence Hong, 27, Joshua Hunter, 23, Kaitlin Perras, 23, Zackariah Rathwell, 21, and ​Jordan Segura, 22, were stabbed to death.

More than 70 people packed into the small courtroom Monday, including friends and families of the five victims, some of them sobbing.

Dressed in a suit, de Grood, 23, sat in the prisoner's box staring straight ahead throughout the morning session.

De Grood arrested near crime scene

De Grood, an invited guest at the party in Brentwood, was arrested nearby shortly after police were called.

An early mental health assessment found de Grood fit to stand trial, meaning he understands the legal process.

He also underwent at least two subsequent psychiatric assessments that examined whether he could be found not criminally responsible.

Such a finding may indicate a person was criminally insane at the time of the act and not capable of understanding right from wrong.

But the opinions of the doctors who evaluated de Grood are contained in reports that are under a publication ban, so the results are still unknown

This week's preliminary inquiry will examine the strength of the prosecution's case.

Crown prosecutor Neil Wiberg plans to call 13 witnesses throughout the week and has been talking to family members of the victims.

"They're very upset, obviously. Five outstanding young people were murdered and I'm sure this brings back horrible memories," he said.

Defence Lawyer Allen Fay said de Grood has been undergoing treatment since his arrest.

"Obviously he's very anxious about this. Reliving the event is obviously very difficult for him," he said.

After hearing all the evidence, the judge will rule whether de Grood will stand trial on the first-degree-murder charges.



If he is committed for trial, the matter will be sent to the Court of Queen's Bench to set a date.

Family attends court

The accused's parents, Doug and Susan de Grood, were also in court Monday, occasionally glancing at their son.

In the days after April 15, 2014, Doug de Grood made an emotional statement on the steps of his lawyer's office. "Just like you, we struggle to understand what happened," he said.

The Crown brought in Wiberg and Stephanie Brown from Edmonton to handle the case because Doug de Grood is an inspector with the Calgary Police Service.