More than four years after the suspicious death of six-year-old Dontay Patrick Lucas in Port Alberni, BC, on Vancouver Island, police say two people have been charged in his murder.
“It’s very emotional,” the boy’s father, Patrick Lucas, said Saturday. “I’ve been fighting this for four years. Fifty months to be exact.”
Dontay Lucas, a descendant of Hesquiaht, was found in medical distress at a Port Alberni home on March 13, 2018 and was rushed to hospital but did not survive.
So far there have been no arrests in the case.
On Saturday, the Port Alberni RCMP said Rykel Frank (née Charleson), 28, and Mitchell Frank, 29, were charged with first-degree murder.
“These investigations are difficult for everyone involved, and we understand that the time it has taken to get to this point has been challenging for the community,” said Insp. Eric Rochette. in a sentence.
Mother and stepfather charged, says father
Patrick Lucas said Rykel Frank is his former partner and the mother of Dontay Lucas, while Mitchell Frank is the boy’s stepfather.
Patrick Lucas said that he was married to Rykel Frank for about 10 years. The couple had three children together according to Lucas. He also said that he grew up in the same community as Mitchell Frank.
The boy attended Haahuupayak Primary School in Port Alberni, which was closed for three days following the news of Lucas’s death.
At the time, police released little information about the death, other than to say that officers attended a home in Port Alberni after receiving a report of a child with medical problems.
Mounted police called the death suspicious and asked the community for information.
I wanted to be a firefighter
Patrick Lucas along with two of his sisters and his mother spoke to CBC News on Saturday about how Dontay wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up.
They said it has been a long and painful ordeal trying to get justice for his death.
“It’s a huge relief,” Dontay’s grandmother, Judy Campbell, said of the murder charges.
“We have been fighting for a long time to make this really happen. When I got the call yesterday, I couldn’t help but cry.”
Dontay’s aunt, Melissa Lucas, said the family has suffered from her nephew’s death and a lengthy criminal investigation.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him. There’s a lot of stress, a lot of pent-up frustration, a lot of anger.”
Rykel Frank and Mitchell Frank are expected to appear in Port Alberni Justice Courts on Wednesday.
More information about the charges and the investigation is expected at a news conference at the Port Alberni RCMP on Monday morning at 10 a.m. PT, according to the police statement.
Patrick Lucas said he is upset that the investigation took so long to bring charges and that more could have been done to prevent his son’s death.
“Everyone who is involved, was involved, should be held accountable…we need a better…justice system.”
Reference-www.cbc.ca