UPDATE: Lee Bonneau inquest completed

After two weeks and dozens of witnesses, the coroner’s inquest into the death of Lee Bonneau is finished and a series of recommendations have been set out to ensure a tragedy like his is avoided in the future.

A six-person jury listened to testimony that was more often than not tearful and filled with extreme grief. Family members, first responders and employees of both the Ministry of Social Services (MSS) and the Yorkton Tribal Council Child and Family Services (YTCCFS) shared their involvement with both Bonneau and the 10-year-old boy suspected of beating him to death with a stick and rock, simply referred to as LT.

Lee died on the Kahkewistahaw First Nation near Broadview in August 2013 after he was separated from his foster mother while she was at a bingo.

The jury listened to his biological mother Stacey Merk and father David Bonneau outline the circumstances surrounding how Lee came to be in foster care and the night he died of blunt force trauma to the head at the hands of LT, a disturbed boy whose own family was receiving support from YTCCFS. Jurors heard evidence of LT’s troubling background, including an incident where he’s believed to have killed a pregnant dog and her two unborn pups. They also heard testimony about how information on LT was not properly documented and shared between the YTCCFS and RCMP.

“It’s heartbreaking for anyone to hear that kind of evidence. There were a lot of tears in the courtroom,” said Inquest Coroner Alma Wiebe.

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Using this evidence the jury didn’t find fault or blame, but instead they used the facts and turned them into 19 recommendations.

They include stronger recruitment and retention incentives for foster parents in rural areas and improved information sharing and follow up between the RCMP, MSS and YTCCFS.

They also suggest that funding efforts be made for a facility for children with complex needs under the age of 12 along with efforts to increase funding for specialized support staff on First Nations.

“I thought their recommendations were thoughtful,” said Wiebe outside Court of Queen’s Bench in Regina.

“The jury picked up on the fact that there were failures in the system.”

Wiebe said the recommendations will be forwarded to the Office of the Chief Coroner where he will send them to the agencies involved, with the expectation they will report back to his office on implementation efforts.

panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @KevinMartel