Coroner determines Ahtahkakoop death accidental, family questions results

Johnstone, who planned to meet with the coroner’s office Wednesday afternoon to discuss the report, said she still has many questions including why she can’t get a straight answer from anyone who last saw him alive or the investigators.

“Now I look like a liar. Now my integrity is blown out of the water,” she said. “I don’t even tell them anything anymore because they don’t take what I give them seriously.”

Ahenakew’s remains were found May 10, 2018 in a burnt out car on the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation. Johnstone plans to have the car inspected and get a second opinion on her son’s death.

“Of course he died of smoke inhalation but could you tell me if he had stab wounds to his body? Could you tell me if he had lacerations? Did he have defence wounds on his arms?” she said.

Another question on Johnstone’s mind is how her son’s vehicle, which was found in a farmer’s field, could have been in any sort of collision significant enough to incinerate.

Johnstone said investigators told her during the crash, the vehicle was dragged over a large rock, damaging the car’s under carriage and causing the fire.

“I’m not an expert but in my mind that doesn’t make sense,” she said.

At the time of Ahenakew’s death, a GoFundMe was created by his family to help raise reward money for information which would assist police find the people responsible. Johnstone said the reward amount is $5,000.

Community reaction and a young witness

Ahenakew’s death has divided the community, according to one woman who claims her daughter was falsely accused of luring Ahenakew to his death. Megan Torrie said she never had any doubt her daughter was innocent.

“When we had heard about Brennan’s death, just the look on her face, you know the kind of grief she was experiencing,” she said. “All of us went through so much grief.”

Torrie said her daughter and the others who were at the house when Ahenakew was last seen have been subjected to bullying, threats on social media and harassment at school.

“I’ve spoken to all these kids and that young man [accused of stabbing Ahenakew], is now marked. He has a death threat on him, he’s been hiding in his house and lurking through bushes to go visiting,” she said.

Torrie said she hopes the report from the coroner will help calm the emotional unrest in the community and has personally asked chief and council to get involved. Torrie’s daughter Dayzsa Merasty, who was 16 at the time of Ahenakew’s death, was among the last few people to see him alive. Merasty recalled asking Ahenakew to come over the night of May 9 to get high and said he showed up around 11:30 p.m.

“I started getting high with him and my friend came out and asked if he wanted to come inside and drink with us and he told us no because he wanted to drink someplace else,” she said.

A few hours later, Merasty said she received a text message from Ahenakew informing her he was at a gravel pit drinking by himself and felt depressed. She said he wanted to come back to the house.

“We drank half a 40 and when we finished that my brother went and stole another mickey off his mom and we drank that too,” she said.

Merasty said she went to bed soon after and when she awoke she heard Ahenakew’s mother was looking for him. After talking with another friend in the house, she was told Ahenakew was involved in a fist fight and left on his own.

“I was like ‘What you guys got into a fight?’ and he said ‘Yeah but tell him I’m sorry about that.’ I was like ‘OK’ and I went to school,” she said.

A spokesperson for the RCMP confirmed for paNOW their investigation into Brennan Ahenakew’s death is complete unless the coroner’s office requests additional information.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

Coroner determines Ahtahkakoop death accidental, family questions results

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