Selma Alem's relationship with her son had been fraught since her other child was murdered 10 years earlier, but she felt so scared of him in the last five months of her life that she repeatedly sought emergency protection orders (EPO), according to court documents obtained by the CBC.

Emanuel Kahsai, 30, was arrested Friday morning and later charged with first-degree murder in the death of Alem, 54, and second-degree murder in the death of Julie Tran, 25, whose bodies were discovered in Alem's home in Calgary's Coventry Hills neighbourhood on Oct. 19. 

Alem worked as a caregiver for Tran and another person in the home, according to police.

In seeking the emergency protection orders, which would make it illegal for Kahsai to come within 500 metres of his mother, Alem told the judge that her son was "angry with the whole world."

Selma Alem, pictured here, worked as a caregiver for Julie Tran and a second person who lived at the home, according to police. (Calgary Herald)

"It's been bad always, like, the last 10 years. His brother was killed and after that he just angry, drinking," Alem told the judge.

In 2005, Alem's other son, Michael Kahsai, was killed with a meat cleaver in a Forest Lawn home. Another Calgary man was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Alem was first granted an emergency protection order on June 9 but had a "change of heart" because she felt sorry that her son was sleeping in a car — so she dropped it in August, according to court documents.

She requested another emergency order in September, when she told the judge her son was drinking, doing drugs and calling her offensive names.

He broke several windows at her home and even threatened to kill her, she told court.

Alem told a judge that she feared her son would either kill himself or harm her.

A Court of Queen's Bench judge upheld the order as recently as Oct. 8 — less than two weeks before the day that Alem and Tran are believed to have been killed.

At that time, Kahsai was under an order not to be within 500 metres of his mother.

Kahsai had also been charged with threatening Alem just days before her death.


The bodies of Selamawit (Selma) Alem and Julie Tran were found in a home in the northeast community of Coventry Hills. Police believe the women were killed up to 48 hours before their bodies were discovered on Oct. 19. (Mike Symington/CBC)

Kahsai was supposed to appear in a Calgary courtroom Friday morning on three charges each of assault with a weapon and uttering threats. Between May 22 and Oct. 16, he is alleged to have threatened his mother and two others, including another family member.

However, he was excused from the court appearance because he was at police headquarters being questioned in the women's killings.

Women killed up to 2 days before bodies discovered

On Friday afternoon, homicide detectives brought Kahsai into the arrest processing unit and later formally charged him in connection with the deaths.

Police believe the women were killed up to 48 hours before their bodies were found.

A close family friend said Alem's sister was visiting from Eritrea the week before her death but left because she was scared of her nephew. 

Officers discovered the women's bodies at a home in the 200 block of Coventry Close N.E. after Alem's friend was unable to contact her and asked police to check on her welfare.