Noah and Connor Barthe died of asphyxiation after python encounter: autopsy
FacebookConnor and Noah are believed to have been killed by a pet python that escaped in Campbellton, N.B.
CAMPBELLTON,
N.B. — The two boys believed to have been killed by an African rock
python in Campbellton, N.B., died from asphyxiation, say preliminary
results of autopsies released by the RCMP.
The Mounties said a pathologist came to that conclusion after completing the autopsies on four-year-old Noah Barthe and his six-year-old brother Connor.
“While we now have some preliminary information, investigators still have to wait for other test results to come back and for the final report,” Sgt. Alain Tremblay said in a statement Wednesday.
“We recognize that this has touched the hearts of people across the world and that people want to know how this could have happened. Our investigators are looking at all aspects of this tragic incident, and that will take some time.”
Tremblay said the necropsy on the snake shows that it was in overall good health but they are still waiting for a final report.
Police said the boys were found dead Monday morning after the 45-kilogram python escaped from a glass tank in an apartment, slithered through a ventilation pipe and fell through the ceiling where they were sleeping.
The apartment remains cordoned off with yellow police tape and two provincial conservation officers were seen entering and leaving the pet store Wednesday.
The two boys python will be remembered Wednesday at a vigil in
Campbellton intended to provide some measure of catharsis for a
grief-stricken community, the city’s deputy mayor said.
Ian Comeau said the vigil is an opportunity to offer comfort to the friends and relatives of Noah Barthe and Connor, whose deaths have triggered an outpouring of global sympathy.
“I think when you look at the ages of these kids, four and six, that’s what has really saddened the population not just in Campbellton, but New Brunswick, Canada, and elsewhere,” Comeau said.
“We have been receiving a lot of messages from around the world about how sad the people are.”
Comeau said the 8 p.m. vigil will feature songs and prayers at the Salmon Plaza monument, about a block away from the apartment where the boys were found dead Monday morning.
The monument features an 8.5-metre replica of an Atlantic salmon in a fountain along the waterfront of the city of 7,400 that borders Quebec.
“People will gather to talk and share their emotions,” Comeau said. “It is something the friends and citizens wanted to do for these two young kids.”
A funeral service for the boys is scheduled Saturday at 4 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church.
An Ontario reptile expert says the New Brunswick government has asked for help in removing animals from Reptile Ocean, the exotic pet store beneath the apartment where two boys were sleeping.
Bry Loyst, founder of the Indian River Reptile Zoo outside Peterborough, Ont., says he and a crew are driving a truck to Campbellton, N.B., to pick up the animals and take them to accredited zoos elsewhere in the country.
Premier David Alward issued a statement today expressing his condolences to the family of the boys, saying their deaths are an unimaginable tragedy.
“It is with a heavy heart and tremendous sadness that I offer, on behalf of the provincial government and of all New Brunswickers, our deepest condolences to the family of Noah and Connor Barthe and to the community of Campbellton following the unimaginable tragedy,” Alward said in a statement.
“As a father, the tragic loss of these two young lives full of so much promise and potential is a lasting reminder that ensuring our children’s safety is paramount.”
Snake handlers are questioning how such a rare incident could have happened. Herpetologists, snake breeders and those who own snakes as pets are unconvinced by claims that the snake hunted the boys down.
“I’m totally skeptical,” said Johan Marais, who has written multiple books on these snakes and runs the African Snakebite Institute.
“It just sounds very, very strange. The fact that we don’t know if there was evidence of one kid being bitten, it’s puzzling that the two would be bitten,” he said Tuesday from Pretoria, South Africa.
African rock snakes, found in evergreen forests and open savannahs
from Côte d’Ivoire to Ethiopia, do not just constrict their prey —
first, they bite in order to anchor the animal they’re hunting down
(anything from rats to antelopes, and they could easily fell an adult).
Then, they begin to constrict, coiling around the body, damaging muscles, squeezing the air out of the lungs, causing cardiac arrest and then death, Marais said. Then, they eat their prey head first.
But they don’t eat very often — just a few times a year — and snakes held in captivity, like this one, are typically “overfed,” he said.
“Snakes don’t kill for fun,” Marais said. “It takes far too much energy.”
The Barthe boys appeared to have developed a comfort level with snakes and other reptiles at a young age, perhaps because they grew up next-door to Ocean Reptile, owned by Jean-Claude Savoie, who lived on the second floor with his young son. The brothers were often guests, going over to play and have sleepovers with Savoie’s son.
Sunday was a busy day for the boys. In the morning, the boys played in the backyard, later splashing around at a local pool. In the afternoon, Savoie took them to do some shopping and then to a farm to play with llamas and goats.
“They went for a ride on the farm tractor with Jean Claude and he even let them steer the tractor, so it was a super day,” said Dave Rose, Trecartin’s uncle, at press conference Tuesday.
“They were two typical children who enjoyed life to the maximum,” said Mr. Rose, reading from a prepared statement. He thanked the public for their support and did not take any questions.
With files from Sarah Boesveld and Alexandra Bosanac, National Post
The Mounties said a pathologist came to that conclusion after completing the autopsies on four-year-old Noah Barthe and his six-year-old brother Connor.
“While we now have some preliminary information, investigators still have to wait for other test results to come back and for the final report,” Sgt. Alain Tremblay said in a statement Wednesday.
“We recognize that this has touched the hearts of people across the world and that people want to know how this could have happened. Our investigators are looking at all aspects of this tragic incident, and that will take some time.”
Janine Renaud / Canadian PressRCMP
work at the scene of a fatal Python attack on Monday Aug. 5, 2013 at
Reptile Ocean in Campbellton, N.B. Two young boys were believed to have
been killed by a python snake as they slept in an apartment above an
exotic pet store.
Police said the boys were found dead Monday morning after the 45-kilogram python escaped from a glass tank in an apartment, slithered through a ventilation pipe and fell through the ceiling where they were sleeping.
The apartment remains cordoned off with yellow police tape and two provincial conservation officers were seen entering and leaving the pet store Wednesday.
Ian Comeau said the vigil is an opportunity to offer comfort to the friends and relatives of Noah Barthe and Connor, whose deaths have triggered an outpouring of global sympathy.
“I think when you look at the ages of these kids, four and six, that’s what has really saddened the population not just in Campbellton, but New Brunswick, Canada, and elsewhere,” Comeau said.
“We have been receiving a lot of messages from around the world about how sad the people are.”
Comeau said the 8 p.m. vigil will feature songs and prayers at the Salmon Plaza monument, about a block away from the apartment where the boys were found dead Monday morning.
The monument features an 8.5-metre replica of an Atlantic salmon in a fountain along the waterfront of the city of 7,400 that borders Quebec.
“People will gather to talk and share their emotions,” Comeau said. “It is something the friends and citizens wanted to do for these two young kids.”
A funeral service for the boys is scheduled Saturday at 4 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church.
An Ontario reptile expert says the New Brunswick government has asked for help in removing animals from Reptile Ocean, the exotic pet store beneath the apartment where two boys were sleeping.
Bry Loyst, founder of the Indian River Reptile Zoo outside Peterborough, Ont., says he and a crew are driving a truck to Campbellton, N.B., to pick up the animals and take them to accredited zoos elsewhere in the country.
Premier David Alward issued a statement today expressing his condolences to the family of the boys, saying their deaths are an unimaginable tragedy.
“It is with a heavy heart and tremendous sadness that I offer, on behalf of the provincial government and of all New Brunswickers, our deepest condolences to the family of Noah and Connor Barthe and to the community of Campbellton following the unimaginable tragedy,” Alward said in a statement.
“As a father, the tragic loss of these two young lives full of so much promise and potential is a lasting reminder that ensuring our children’s safety is paramount.”
Snake handlers are questioning how such a rare incident could have happened. Herpetologists, snake breeders and those who own snakes as pets are unconvinced by claims that the snake hunted the boys down.
“I’m totally skeptical,” said Johan Marais, who has written multiple books on these snakes and runs the African Snakebite Institute.
“It just sounds very, very strange. The fact that we don’t know if there was evidence of one kid being bitten, it’s puzzling that the two would be bitten,” he said Tuesday from Pretoria, South Africa.
Mandy Trecartin / FacebookThe Barthe brothers cleaning a snake tank, according to an undated photo posted on their mother's Facebook page.
Then, they begin to constrict, coiling around the body, damaging muscles, squeezing the air out of the lungs, causing cardiac arrest and then death, Marais said. Then, they eat their prey head first.
But they don’t eat very often — just a few times a year — and snakes held in captivity, like this one, are typically “overfed,” he said.
“Snakes don’t kill for fun,” Marais said. “It takes far too much energy.”
The Barthe boys appeared to have developed a comfort level with snakes and other reptiles at a young age, perhaps because they grew up next-door to Ocean Reptile, owned by Jean-Claude Savoie, who lived on the second floor with his young son. The brothers were often guests, going over to play and have sleepovers with Savoie’s son.
Sunday was a busy day for the boys. In the morning, the boys played in the backyard, later splashing around at a local pool. In the afternoon, Savoie took them to do some shopping and then to a farm to play with llamas and goats.
“They went for a ride on the farm tractor with Jean Claude and he even let them steer the tractor, so it was a super day,” said Dave Rose, Trecartin’s uncle, at press conference Tuesday.
“They were two typical children who enjoyed life to the maximum,” said Mr. Rose, reading from a prepared statement. He thanked the public for their support and did not take any questions.
FacebookNoah Barthe (left), Mandy Trecartin and Connor Barthe pose in this undated photo posted on the Facebook.
Labels: Animal Stories, Canada, Child Abuse, Tragedy
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