Funeral held for infant killed in High Prairie: ‘He was my Pooh bear’

A funeral was held Tuesday afternoon for a seven-month-old boy who was killed in northern Alberta earlier this month.

Community and family members gathered at a hall on the Driftpile Cree Nation to remember and say goodbye to Oaklan Reid Cunningham.

“It bring me joy knowing that they loved my baby almost as much as I did,” the infant’s mother, Shonda Desjarlais, said of the community members who attended the service.

“It sucks to see a lot of my family members under these circumstances. I wish it was in better circumstances and they got to see the loving, two-teeth smile my baby had given everybody he met.”

Cunningham died at a High Prairie, Alta., residence on Oct. 6. The boy’s death was ruled a homicide.

Cunningham’s family previously told Global News they dropped him off at day home on Oct. 6 and later received a phone call to come to hospital because their son had died.

It was standing room only at the community hall for the service Tuesday, with many attendees wearing orange at the request of the family.

At the front of the room, stood a teepee overlooking a bassinette surrounded by stuffed animals. Cunningham’s mother and grandmother wore ribbon skirts and T-shirts with Winnie-the-Pooh on them, which was the boy’s favourite character.

“He was my Pooh bear because that little boy searched me out for food,” Desjarlais said with a smile.

Desjarlais said her son had the biggest smile, which would light up her day from morning until night. She and her mother, Rhonda Walter-Desjarlais, urged people to hug their babies tight and show them a lot of love.

“Kiss them, lots of kisses. Make sure they’re comforted, loved… And never go a day without saying I love you,” Desjarlais said.

“Love those kids. Tell them you love them every day, hug them, because you never know what will happen,” Walter-Desjarlais added.

1:31 RCMP lay 2nd-degree murder charge against dayhome operator

Over the weekend, the RCMP charged 29-year-old Kyra Renee Backs with second-degree murder in Cunningham’s death. Police said Backs was a day home operator in the northern Alberta community.

Backs remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in High Prairie Provincial Court on Oct. 24.

Police are looking to speak with any families with concerns who currently or in the past have sent their kids to the day home.

Anyone with information can contact High Prairie RCMP at 780-523-3378. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.