Two people have been charged with first-degree murder, four years after death of a six-year-old Port Alberni boy, RCMP said Saturday.
Police were called to a Port Alberni home on March 13, 2018, where they found Dontay Patrick Lucas in medical distress. He was rushed to hospital, but later died.
At the time, police deemed the death suspicious.
On Saturday, Port Alberni RCMP said murder charges had been approved against Rykel Frank, 28, and Mitchell Frank, 29.
Family and the Nuu-chach-nulth Tribal Council have identified the accused as Lucas’ biological mother and stepfather.
“Honestly, it just feels like the wound was reopened,” Kristen Dean, Dante’s stepmother, told Global News.
“It’s going to be a lot harder sitting and hearing all the details of what happened.”
Four years later, Dean said she still doesn’t know what happened to Dante. The boy’s mother, she said, claimed he had fallen down the stairs, while police only said the death was suspicious.
“They kept promising and promising that arrests were to be made, and nothing was being done,” she said.
“We weren’t told exactly why arrests were going to be made. We weren’t told what exactly happened.”
In a statement, the Nuu-chach-nulth said it was a “huge relief” that charges had finally been laid, but that it was “not happy” the process had taken four years.
“The death of any person is very sad, but it is even sadder when it is a young child with their whole life ahead of them. When the death is due to family violence, we know there is still healing to be done in our communities from residential schools, racism, and colonization,” tribal council President Judith Sayers said.
“At long last, charges have been brought against two people who caused the death. The justice system has to do better. Now the family have another long wait for the trial to begin.”
Investigators have planned a press conference for Monday morning, and said they would not be releasing additional information until then.
“These investigations are difficult for everyone involved, and we understand the length of time that it has taken to get to this point has been challenging for the community,” Insp. Eric Rochette said in a media release.