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A sketch of Matthew de Grood, appearing in a Calgary court on Tuesday April 22, 2014, by artist Janice Fletcher, is shown. AJanice Fletcher/The Canadian Press

A judge has reserved a decision for several months on whether to unseal police and eyewitness accounts and other investigative materials in the stabbing deaths of five young people at a Calgary house party last spring, a case that shocked the country.

The timing pushes any ruling on releasing key details of the case, in what are known as "information to obtain" documents, past the start of a March preliminary hearing in advance of the trial of Matthew de Grood.

The 23-year-old faces five counts of first-degree murder in connection with the April 15 rampage.

Five media outlets, including The Globe and Mail, have applied to have the materials unsealed so details can be published. Crown prosecutors as well as the Calgary Police Service oppose the release of the materials.

All sides presented their submissions in court on Wednesday, and provincial court judge Timothy Hironaka said the parties will return on March 10. A preliminary hearing is set to start on March 2, so it is unlikely that the information, some of which could be presented as evidence in the trial as well as provide the public more information about the shocking case, can be disclosed before then.

A publication ban prohibits reporting the content of Wednesday's court hearing. Assessments of Mr. de Grood's mental health at the time of the attacks are currently sealed as well.

The victims – Jordan Segura, 22; Kaiti Perras, 23; Josh Hunter, 23; Zackariah Rathwell, 21; and Lawrence Hong, 27 – were at the end-of-semester party near the University of Calgary when, according to police, the suspect grabbed a knife and attacked them before fleeing.

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