Toddler’s death investigated as homicide after remains identified ‘I want the people who did this to her to get locked up,’ former caregiver says By: Chris Kitching Posted: 10:46 AM CDT Friday, Nov. 1, 2024 Last Modified: 7:55 PM CDT Friday, Nov. 1, 2024 Updates

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The death of a First Nations toddler whose partial remains were found in an Interlake barn is being investigated as a homicide — and her former caregiver is demanding to know how her disappearance went unnoticed for months.

Investigators confirmed Friday that remains found in June in the Rural Municipality of Grahamdale, about 250 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, were those of Xavia Skye Lynn Butler.

RCMP said Xavia, who was never reported missing, would have been about one to two years old when she died. No one has been charged.

“I want justice. I want the people who did this to her to get locked up,” Natalie Anderson, 36, told the Free Press. “I don’t want this to happen to another baby. I’m dying inside every day. I want my baby back.”

Anderson said she began raising Xavia, after the girl was born in a Winnipeg hospital in June 2021. She said her cousin is Xavia’s biological mother.

“Our plan was always for me to take the baby,” said Anderson. “She went into my care straight from the hospital. She was perfect and happy. She was loved, and she was taken care of.”

Anderson said there was no formal Child and Family Services or adoption arrangement. She said CFS got involved and returned Xavia to her biological mother in March 2022.

“I told her she was going for a ride and mommy would see her later. I never saw her again,” Anderson said tearfully. “When Xavia left, I was broken. They just came and took her, and gave her back.”

Anderson said she initially saw Xavia in daily video calls, while the girl lived with her biological mother in the Interlake, but the calls soon became less frequent and eventually stopped within months.

“I told her she was going for a ride and mommy would see her later. I never saw her again.”–Natalie Anderson

Anderson said she was given excuses as to why she couldn’t see Xavia in person or virtually, or why photos of the toddler couldn’t be shared with her, including the girl’s first birthday in June 2022.

That was the last time Anderson spoke to her cousin, she said.

She said the biological mother mentioned Xavia to her sister in a text message in October 2022. Anderson said her sister contacted a CFS agency more than a year ago, after noticing new photos of Xavia were no longer being shared on social media.

The siblings don’t know how the concern was handled.

Anderson has questions about CFS involvement in Xavia’s life, and whether any checks were done, or for how long, after she was reunited with her mother.

“She could have been here. She could have stayed with me,” Anderson said. “When she was with me, she knew what love was. She knew she was loved, and she knew she was safe.”

Some of Xavia’s remains were found in an old barn next to Highway 6, southwest of Gypsumville, on June 3. The discovery led to a wider search of the area for more remains.

Anderson understands the girl was buried, and her remains were unearthed by at least one animal and moved to the barn.

Spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre said Xavia, a member of Pinaymootang First Nation, lived with her biological family on a property neighbouring the barn, which has a different owner.

The girl was not in CFS care at the time she is believed to have died, he said.

Anderson said people who live in surrounding communities suspected the remains belonged to Xavia, when RCMP said at the time they appeared to be those of an infant.

RCMP contacted Anderson three days later to talk about Xavia and the discovery.

RCMP said the last time investigators were able to physically place Xavia alive was about a year before she was found dead.

Police are seeking the public’s help to trace Xavia’s whereabouts during that time. They want to speak to anyone who saw the girl or has photos of her after March 2022 to help build a better timeline of her life.

Manaigre said it is a challenging and complex investigation.

“Hopefully, this tip line is going to get a lot of information (investigators) need,” he said.

Anyone with information about the child or who has photos of her is asked to call an RCMP tip line at 431-489-8112.

RCMP did not provide information about the girl’s cause of death.

Anderson’s thoughts turned to five-year-old Phoenix Sinclair, who was killed by her mother and stepfather in 2005, after slipping through cracks in the child-welfare system. Phoenix’s death went unnoticed for months.

Anderson said she was a babysitter for Phoenix, whose biological father, Steve Sinclair, was a family friend, when she was in her teens.

Premier Wab Kinew said a situation where a young person’s death is investigated as a homicide “is one of the worst things that could happen.”

“As a leader of a provincial government, when something like this happens in Manitoba it makes you stop and take stock of what is happening across this land, and resolve that, with respect for this ongoing investigation as information comes out, we will have an attention towards preventing incidents like this from happening again,” he said at an unrelated event.

Kinew encouraged people to contact RCMP if they have information or photos of the girl.

The province would not say whether CFS was involved at any stage of the girl’s life.

A candlelight vigil was held at the barn about a week after Xavia was found.

“Tears were shed. Everybody felt the sadness of that situation,” said vigil organizer Stuart Beardy.

The wooden barn, owned by Natascha Kitchur and her family, was painted orange in July. “Every child matters” was painted in large letters across the roof.

The phrase and use of the colour orange originated from efforts to honour children who died, went missing or survived in Canada’s residential school system, and raise awareness about inter-generational trauma.

Kitchur and her family came up with the idea to paint the barn while heartbroken by the “unspeakable” loss of Xavia, they said in a statement.

“The ‘orange barn’ serves as a memorial for Xavia, a toddler who was tragically found deceased in the barn, and as a symbolic beacon in remembrance of all those who have been lost,” the family said.

People from surrounding communities donated paint, brushes and food for volunteers who transformed the barn.

Beardy said Xavia’s uncle helped paint.

“He was emotional. He hugged everybody to thank them for painting the barn,” said Beardy.

The barn embodies a larger call for justice and healing for all who are missing or have been murdered, the Kitchur family said.

“This is about Xavia, about all of them, and about our commitment to ensure they are never forgotten.” Natascha Kitchur said.

Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth, Sherry Gott, is notified after any child or person up to the age of 21 dies in the province.

If the person or their family received a reviewable service, such as child welfare, within 12 months preceding their death, the advocate may review those services.

Gott said her office has not yet been notified about the death, but is aware of the case.

“We are deeply saddened by the discovery of infant remains and extend our heartfelt condolences to everyone affected by this tragedy,” she said in a statement.

— With files from Carol Sanders

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca