advertisment
Topic Options
#1884317 - 02/03/10 07:35 PM Millet story makes me so sad
Fated Offline
WB Chatterbox

Registered: 01/11/10
Posts: 481
Loc: Edmonton, AB
Here is a news article about it that I copy and pasted..

--------------------------------------------------------------

Dad didn't know drowned Alberta boys were with mother, says friend

By Bob Weber (CP) – 2 hours ago

EDMONTON — It was a call from the police that gave Curtis McConnell the first hint that something had gone terribly wrong.

But the call was about McConnell's wife Allyson, who had been taken to hospital. It wasn't until the panicked Alberta man rushed home to check on his two young boys that he found their bodies, apparently drowned in a bathtub.

"The police didn't know there were kids involved," said Cara Rotenburger, a friend of the McConnell's who spoke to Curtis after Monday's tragic events in Millet, Alberta.

"(Curtis) got a call from the Edmonton Police Service stating that Ally McConnell was in the hospital, to which he responded 'Where are my children?' "

Police told him the boys were with a babysitter or neighbour, Rotenburger said. Still, McConnell went home to check.

"(He) went in and looked around for his kids. And they weren't in their rooms or anywhere. He went into a bathroom that they don't use and found his kids ... floating in a tub of water. He pulled them out and laid them out onto the floor and then he ran and got his neighbour.

"He was on the phone, screaming his head off, asking, 'Why?' "

Edmonton police have said a woman tried to kill herself Monday by jumping off a bridge onto a busy expressway in the city, although they wouldn't confirm the woman was Allyson McConnell, 31. The woman survived the fall.

A car that police said has ties to the McConnell home was found in the parking lot of a nearby toy store.

RCMP have been tight-lipped about the investigation into the deaths of the two boys. They have not been officially identified, but family and court documents say they are Connor, 3, and Jayden, 10 months.

Police were awaiting the results of the autopsies Wednesday. No one has been arrested and no charges have been laid.

Curtis McConnell, 31, now with his family, said on a Facebook memorial to his sons that he has been left with "unanswerable questions."

He said he is "holding on to the feelings I got from holding them."

"They loved me so much and I loved them so much."

He said that although he couldn't protect his children, he can still work to be the best person he can be for them.

"I have to live the life my kids would want me to live."

By Tuesday afternoon, a pile of stuffed animals and flowers had been placed as a memorial outside the family home in Millet, a town of about 2,000 southeast of Edmonton.

Allyson and Curtis met in 2005 when Allyson, an Australian, was living in Canada on a work permit. They were married in Australia in 2007 and moved back to Canada.

But court documents show the couple had been going through a painful divorce, with custody of the children a major issue.

In an affidavit, Curtis said Allyson had "been threatening me that she wants to move back to Australia with our children. I am fearful that she will attempt to do this without my consent or knowledge.

"I have taken our children's passports for safekeeping."

A statement of defence filed on behalf of Allyson noted she has limited family contacts in Alberta but "a broad network of support in Australia" and would "be entitled to significant government financial support should she return to Australia."

The document also says she would have better professional opportunities in Australia.

A final decision in the case was not made, but the judge had ruled the children should stay in Alberta under joint custody, staying with Allyson, while the matter was being sorted out.

Rotenburger described the McConnells as "a great couple" - until recently.

"Ally just wanted to go home," Rotenburger said. "She just wanted to go back to Australia."

Rotenburger called Curtis a great father, happy to do things like join in the fun when his boys and Rotenburger's daughter played in the ball pit at a recent trip to West Edmonton Mall.

"He tried his best to be the best dad he could be."

She described Allyson as a quiet person she didn't get to know that well.

"She didn't want to be here any more. She didn't have any family here."

Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
_________________________

Top
#1884436 - 02/03/10 08:11 PM Re: Millet story makes me so sad [Re: Fated]
canIgetawhaa Offline
WB Devotee

Registered: 08/18/08
Posts: 1922
Oh geez, in the paper they posted a picture of the little boys with their parents. It was SO hard for me to read and see the picture of the family.
_________________________

Top
#1885358 - 02/04/10 01:00 AM Re: Millet story makes me so sad [Re: canIgetawhaa]
cherryblossom Offline
WB Devotee

Registered: 08/13/06
Posts: 2329
Loc: Calgary, Alberta
I know. I don't want to hear about it anymore. Too sad. frown
_________________________
Tied the knot in 2007
Proud mama to Baby H

Top
#1892797 - 02/06/10 09:03 AM Re: Millet story makes me so sad [Re: cherryblossom]
tcevam Offline
WB Devotee

Registered: 01/09/09
Posts: 1833
Reading this made my stomach turn. So sad.

Top
#1894662 - 02/06/10 11:07 PM Re: Millet story makes me so sad [Re: tcevam]
CateFace Offline
WB Postaholic

Registered: 12/29/08
Posts: 5268
Loc: Calgary
This just breaks my heart
_________________________
Matt & Katy - Married June 6, 2009
BM to MandaPanda Aug. 2011!!








Top
#1895449 - 02/07/10 12:01 PM Re: Millet story makes me so sad [Re: CateFace]
tentenohnine Offline
WB Devotee

Registered: 06/11/08
Posts: 1596
Loc: Vancouver, BC
Oh my gosh, how awful and heartbreaking!
_________________________
Married October 10, 2009 | "And now instead of two stories fumbling to meet, we belong to one story that the two, joining, made."

Blogging my little big life!

Top
#1897002 - 02/07/10 09:59 PM Re: Millet story makes me so sad [Re: tentenohnine]
Mrs.SL Offline
WB Devotee

Registered: 06/15/09
Posts: 1031
So horrible! This made me very sad.
_________________________

Top
#1904456 - 02/09/10 09:08 PM Re: Millet story makes me so sad [Re: Mrs.SL]
ValleyBridetoBe Offline
WB Chatterbox

Registered: 05/01/08
Posts: 361
Loc: Nova Scotia
This is the first I heard of it. Whoa.
Cannot imagine what that man is going through after finding his children like that.
_________________________
Engaged: July 26, 2008
Wedding: April 24, 2010
I am Autistic

Top


advertisement
Shout Box

Latest Posts
What is your guilty pleasure TV show?
by 123not_it   19 seconds ago
in Miscellaneous
Well FU!!! D!nk!
by muggins   1 minute 6 seconds ago
in Everything from Toddler to Teenager
October Mommies - Week of September 5th!
by maimou   1 minute 9 seconds ago
in Great Expectations
Palm Springs condo rentals??
by tjrocks   1 minute 48 seconds ago
in Honeymoon & Travel
Do You KNOW Anyone Famous?
by Sookie   2 minutes 8 seconds ago
in Miscellaneous
advertisement Hershey's S'Mores contest. Hair Care Tips. Sponsored By Nexxus The BIG WEDDING GIVEAWAY destination weddings guide eco guide
advertisement

Luxe Destination Weddings