Former volunteer says python had escaped weeks before brothers’ death

The mother of two young New Brunswick boys, who were suffocated by a python in 2013, testified Wednesday during the trial of the man charged in their deaths.

According to the Canadian Press, Mandy Trecartin said she had no reservations about leaving her sons for a sleepover at Jean-Claude Savoie’s apartment. Trecartin described Savoie as a close friend and said her sons were best friends with Savoie’s son.

Savoie owned the Reptile Ocean pet store below his apartment at the time.

Four-year-old Noah Barthe and his six-year old brother Connor were killed by the python after it escaped its enclosure. It’s believed the snake travelled through a ventilation duct and fell into the room where the boys were sleeping.

RCMP Const. Eric Maillet, one of the first officers on the scene, said he was surprised at how quickly the large snake could move. Maillet said Savoie was able to recapture the snake and return it to its enclosure but the snake appeared aggressive and looked to be trying to escape again.

A former volunteer at Savoie’s pet store, Ocean Eagles, testified that weeks earlier she had placed a cover over the opening of the duct when Savoie told her the snake had managed to get halfway out before.