As a grieving community prepared to bury one of its own, the three bullies responsible for little Adam Keeper's death were quietly whisked out of Pauingassi Tuesday morning.
The Free Press crossed paths with the young killers and their families at the St. Andrews airport as they touched down following an hour-long flight with smiles on their faces.
The boys -- aged seven, eight and nine -- were joined by two fathers, a mother and a grandmother. None showed any visible signs of the hurt and pain they'd caused.
The oldest boy seemed fascinated with the float plane he'd just exited and began trying to climb the back of it. He brought laughs from his two younger friends when he made a mock attempt to push it.
The eight-year-old boy said "Hi" to a few bystanders, questioned whether a lawnmower sitting on the grass was working and began climbing the railing leading into the airline office.
The youngest boy had to be helped down the stairs and stayed close with his family.
The adults gathered outside the plane to smoke while waiting for a shuttle to take them to the Southeast Tribal Child and Family Services office in downtown Winnipeg.
The kids will not face any criminal sanctions because they are under the age of 12. RCMP have turned the case over to CFS, who had the families flown in for counselling.
The parents and guardians were expected to return to Pauingassi as early as today while the children were to stay behind for an indefinite period of time.
Rosalie Keeper, the mother of the young victim, told the Free Press media reports stating that her family had met with the child killers were false.
This is the third homicide case out of Pauingassi in the past year where young killers were involved.
Two girls, aged 13 and 15, were charged in May with the beating death of a 22-year-old woman. The site of her killing is only a few metres from the cemetery where Adam Keeper was buried Tuesday.
Keeper's grave site is directly beside that of Jeremy Crow, who died last August after being hit in the head with an ax. A 15-year-old youth and two adults have been charged with the slaying.
www.mikeoncrime.com
PREVIOUS
