Hundreds attend funeral for slain Alberta boys
Written by on February 6th, 2010 in Latest News.
Hundreds of people packed a church in central Alberta on Saturday to mourn the deaths of two young boys found in a bathtub this week.
Connor and Jayden McConnell, shown here on a Facebook memorial site, were found dead in their home in Millet, Alta., on Monday. (Facebook)The bodies of Conner McConnell, 2½, and his 10-month-ancient brother Jayden were found by their father in their home in Millet, Alta., on Monday.
Police are not releasing how the boys died and no charges have been laid, but police have said the deaths are homicides.
A steady stream of mourners flowed into the Calvary Baptist Church in Wetaskiwin on Saturday, nearly filling the church’s 650 seats. Photographs, depicting two pleased and lively boys, filled the foyer.
On Friday, residents in the town of Millet held a candlelight vigil in memory of the two boys.
Leann Melan, who went to the vigil with her children, said the deaths have upset many in the community.
“Everyone feels sorry for the boys,” she said. “It’s not a excellent thing for someone to do something like that [to] two boys, two small ones. That’s just sick for anyone to do it.”
Cindy King, also from Millet, said the deaths will “be with people for a long time.”
A shrine has been set up outside the McConnell home in Millet, Alta. (Scott Fralick/CBC)
Teddy bears, flowers and stuffed animals line the snowbank outside the McConnell home.
On a Facebook memorial page set up in memory of the two boys, their father Curtis McConnell, 31, said he has been left with “unanswerable questions.”
He told a friend that he got a call from police saying his wife Allyson, 31, was in hospital shortly before he found his sons’ bodies in a bathtub.
Court documents show the McConnells are going through a painful divorce, with custody of the children a major issue.
With files from The Canadian Press
