REGINA – Day six of the coroner’s inquest into the death of six-year-old Lee Bonneau began with more insight into the 10-year-old boy responsible for his death in August of 2013.
Tuesday’s testimony began with Pat Santo, a child protection investigator with the Yorkton Tribal Council, who was brought in December of 2012 to investigate the older boy, who cannot be named and is referenced as ‘LT.’
Santo told the court he was concerned about the mental state of the boy, and referenced one instance in particular when he interviewed LT in March of 2013.
Santo testified that the boy kept getting out of the vehicle he was in because LT said he heard voices of a man, woman and baby telling him to do so.
“He definitely had issues and they needed to be dealt with immediately,” Santo added.
Court heard Monday that LT had a troubled childhood that included 28 interactions with police.
Santo was responsible for investigating all those matters collectively, but testified that he didn’t have access to all the information or support he needed to carry out his investigation.
“There were a lot of red flags going up, but I needed some professional help,” he said.
Santo developed a safety plan and recommended LT see a child psychiatrist.
He added that he never removed the child from the parents’ home because he was never worried about the child’s physical safety, only his mental development.
When asked what could be done to prevent a similar tragedy in the future, Santo said it was crucial that the record keeping system be modernized.
Santo’s retired now but said at the time the work load levels were “extremely heavy”, and that the amount of cases interfered with carrying out his services.
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