The 15-foot (4.3 meters) 100-pound (45 kg) African rock
python that killed 4-year-old Noah Barthe and his 6-year-old brother Connor
Barthe in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada, was kept inside the second-floor
apartment above the pet store, not inside the pet store as authorities had previously stated.In the video report below, Canadian police Sergeant Alain Tremblay explains that the snake was housed in a large glass enclosure that reached the ceiling of the apartment.
The python escaped through a small hole in the ceiling
connected to the ventilation system, made its way through the ventilation
system, and moved towards the living room, where the boys were sleeping. The
pipe collapsed and the snake fell into the room.
The two boys were found strangled on Monday morning in the
living room by Jean-Claude Savoie, who is the pet
store owner and whose son was a friend of the two boys. His son was sleeping in
a separate room and was not attacked by the python.
Jean-Claude Savoie said that he had not heard a sound during
the night and that what he discovered in the morning was a “horrific scene.” "I
can't believe this is real," he commented.
Jean-Claude Savoie also said that 4-year-old Noah Barthe and
his brother were his son’s best friends and that they
often visited the apartment.
Jean-Claude Savoie told investigators that he had
owned the python for at least 10 years and that it was kept alone in its
enclosure and was not handled by anyone else.
Steve Benteau, a spokesman for the provincial natural
resources department, said no permit was issued for an African rock python and
provincial authorities had not been aware it was being kept at the apartment.
The department said the species was generally only permitted in accredited zoos
unless there was a special permit.
In trying to understand the tragic death of 4-year-old Noah
Barthe and 6-year-old Connor Barthe, investigators and snake
experts are trying to determine whether the python was spooked when it fell on
the two boys.
"Once they are in constricting mode, any part of their
body that is touching something that moves, they'll wrap it," said snake
expert John Kendrick, from Hamilton in Ontario.
Another important aspect of the investigation is the fact
that the two boys had had spent Monday at Savoie's family farm and played with
different farm animals including lamas, goats, horses, dogs, and cats before
staying over at the apartment.
The python might have picked up on the animals’ scents on
the two boys and regarded them as prey. Humans are not generally a source of
food for pythons but if the children smelled like farm animals, it could
explain the python attack, said Paul Goulet, founder and co-owner of Little
Ray's Reptile Zoo in Ottawa.
