Ex-Conservative staffer charged with murder - also suspect in death threats against Peter MacKay

A man arrested in triple homicide last week is now also being considered a suspect in death threats against Peter MacKay.

Rakesh David, 25, is charged with the murder of his grandmother, mother and brother which occurred on September 24, 2021.

David, a duel citizen of Trinidad and Tobago and Canada, is also charged with possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, possession of a firearm to endanger life and possession of ammunition to endanger life. The victims were identified as 77-year-old Kumari Kowlessar-Timal of O’Meara Road, Arima, 48-year-old Radeshka Timal and 22-year-old Zachary David, both Canadian nationals and residents of Don Miguel Road, San Juan.

Their bodies were found at San Juan, killed by a bullet to the head on Republic Day. David was arrested that same day. He had previously served as a staffer for the Conservative Party.

According to the Toronto Star, David is now suspected for several reasons. Emails sent by David which included unusual phrasings and use of capitalization, which was very similar to wording used in the threats.

The Star also claims that "campaign sources also linked an email-mimicking account from which the threats were sent with another message, which they said David provided and claimed had been sent to him by the Liberal party."

At the time, a police officer also went to David’s home, but at the time he was in Trinidad and Tobago, where he had lived on and off for several years. A source close to the MacKay campaign said they reached out to Ottawa police this week to ask if David was in fact the person behind the threats.

“These were treated as very real and very serious threats,” said the source, who spoke confidentially as the MacKay family had not authorized them to speak publicly about the issue.

“We hope this incident might revive the investigation so the family can get closure.” During the investigation by Ottawa police, David retained a lawyer, who declined to comment Friday when reached by the Star.

David wrote to the MacKay campaign back in March 2021, denying any involvement.

David claimed that "while he was aware the threats may have come from his “geographic location” — he had been in Trinidad and Tobago during that period — he had been a victim of security breaches to his computer, cellphone and social media accounts during the same period and he had informed police." “My only hope is that you understand the situation I was placed in, and understand that there was no way I could have sent those hateful threats and messages to us, and I was a victim too,” he wrote in the email, which was cited by the Star. “If you don’t believe me, all I can do is apologize for not being a good enough person for you to trust me. I too would like to know who was responsible for this, but there is only so much I can do, and the police seem not to really care.”