A memorial of teddy bears and other toys has been growing on the lawn outside of a home where a five-year-old boy was found dead in Coteau-du-Lac, Que., about 55 kilometres southwest of Montreal.
Grieving members of the community, which is home to about 7,400 residents, laid the plushies Wednesday night after Quebec provincial police investigators remained at the scene for most of the day.
“It’s devastating,” Amanda Brenie, who lives across the street, said in a brief interview the next day. Her teenage daughter brought a stuffed animal on their family’s behalf to pay their respects.
The boy was found unresponsive after police were called to the home on du Fleuve Road around 3 a.m. Wednesday.
His death, which was confirmed at the hospital, is being treated as suspicious by investigators. Two other people inside the home were also taken to hospital.
A 29-year-old woman is facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with the child’s death. She was arraigned Wednesday in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
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Police declined to confirm the accused’s relationship with the victim. A publication ban has been issued on both identities, according to the province’s Crown prosecutor’s office.
Brenie said it was her husband who first told her about their young neighbour’s death. It comes just a few months after the the small community faced the loss of a toddler drowned at the beginning of the summer, she noted.
“It’s pretty devastating seeing these young children living a short life of time,” she said.
Crime scene tape cordoned off the front lawn and investigators were looking to speak to anyone who had seen the boy in the 24 hours before his death.
“Last night, I was rubbing my son’s hand and I jut couldn’t stop crying,” Brenie said. “It was so sad.”
While few details are known as the judicial process gets underway, the mother of two wasn’t surprised by the outpouring of support for the boy’s family.
“This is how we are here. We’re such a small community. A lot of children are here, it’s only children,” Brenie said. “So when we hear things that happen like this, it comes to affect us.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
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