Noah Barthe, 4, and Connor Barthe, 6, Strangled To Death By Python; Snake Was Pet Of Family Friend

A python strangled Noah Barthe, 4, and Connor Barthe, 6, while they slept above a pet store in the apartment of their uncle’s best friend Jean-Claude Savoie on Monday night in Canada.

Initially reports stated that the 100-pound, 15-foot African rock python had escaped from the pet store Reptile Ocean, owned by Savoie that sits below the apartment. However, it’s now believed by Canadian authorizes that the pet had been kept in Savoie’s living space where the boys were sleeping, reported ABC News.

“It was upstairs,” Royal Mounted Police Sgt. Alain Tremblay Tuesday night. “[It] never got out of the store.” The sergeant went on to state that the tragic death of the two boys in the eastern Canadian town of Campbellton will be examined closely. “It’s a criminal investigation,” Tremblay said. “We’re going to look at all avenues.”

Though it’s been reasoned that the python killed the boys by wrapping itself around them and constricting them, an autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death. The python has since been put down, and its body will undergo a necropsy to determine the cause of its fatal attack on the Barth boys.

_{An African rock python encaged at a zoo}

Savoie, who had been watching the two children, initially claimed that the pet had escaped from the store below. “I thought [the snakes] were sleeping until I [saw] the hole in the ceiling,” he told the Global News TV station. “I turned the lights on and I [saw] this horrific scene.” Savoie then apparently caught the python in his living room, pinned it down locked it up in a cage. “It’s ridiculous. I can’t believe this is real,” he added.

The Reptile Ocean owner, who had owned the exotic snake for 10 years, claimed to not have heard any disturbances during the night, and came upon the deceased children in the morning. Authorities arrived at the devastating scene at 6 a.m. local time on Monday, according to Constable Julie Rogers-Marsh.

– Chelsea Regan

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