By CHAT News Today

Mother of murdered boys clarifies custody situation

Dec 22, 2016 | 2:48 PM

SPRUCE GROVE, AB — The mother of two boys killed by their father in a murder-suicide earlier this week took to Facebook to clarify the custody arrangement between her and the father.

In a post on Facebook responding to a story in the Edmonton Journal, Tracy Stark said she had full custody of her sons Ryder, 13, and Radek, 11, MacDougall with their stepfather Brent Stark. Ryder and Radek were found dead in a home in Spruice Grove on Monday by their stepfather Brent Stark. The body of their father Corry MacDougall, 39, was also found in the home. RCMP have confirmed the death was a murder-suicide committed by Corry.

“I will clear one thing up … this monster didn’t have primary care!!! He was given one school year with these boys so they could play hockey in Spruce Grove … I raised these babies with my husband Brent in Whitecourt their entire lives … he had 4 months with them and he took them away,” Stark wrote on Facebook.

Insp. Gibson Glavin with the  wouldn’t comment on how the boys died.

“The adult was responsible, criminally responsible, for the deaths of the two boys,” he told Global News on Wednesday.

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“After we’ve had an opportunity to collect what evidence is available where the event happened and talk to the people who can tell us anything they know about what happened and get the reports from the medical examiner, we turn now to looking back. Was there anything that indicated that something could have been happening to prevent this that police could have been a part of, should have been a part of?”

Glavin said the investigation is not closed by any means.

“It’s not open because we don’t know what occurred; it’s open because we want to understand what occurred better,” he said.

He said it was a “very tough” scene for investigators, but added it is their professional duty to work the case and provide answers for the family and community.

The boys played with the Spruce Grove Minor Hockey Association, whose president posted a statement online calling the deaths an “unimaginable tragedy.”

They were both students at the nearby Greystone Centennial Middle School, who have activated a trauma team to help students cope with the tragedy.

A vigil for the boys was held Tuesday in Whitecourt.