William and James Beck with their mother Lori
(Fort McMurray Alberta) – More than 15 years after her twin sons were killed in a downtown Fort McMurray park, Lori Astley says she’s still waiting for answers.
Astley has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to hire a legal team and private investigators to conduct an independent review of the unsolved killings of her sons, James and William Beck.
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The 17-year-old twins were fatally stabbed on the night of June 26, 2011, following a confrontation at the skateboard park in Borealis Park. The brothers were taken to the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre with multiple stab wounds and were pronounced dead shortly after midnight.
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Despite the passage of time, no one has been charged in connection with the killings. Astley says she hasn’t received a meaningful update from investigators in more than a decade and feels she has been left without information about the status of the case. “I can’t get any answers,” she said. “I haven’t even been able to get the boys’ files because it’s still an active investigation.”
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She also says many of the original investigators assigned to the case have since left Fort McMurray and moved on to other positions within the RCMP. “I know the original investigators don’t even live or work here anymore,” Astley said. “They’ve moved on, but I’m still here waiting.”
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According to Astley, the fundraiser will help cover the cost of hiring lawyers and experienced private investigators to examine the case independently in hopes of uncovering new information. “I feel left in the dark,” she said. “I just want answers for my boys.”
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In 2013, on the second anniversary of the killings, Wood Buffalo RCMP renewed their appeal for information, saying investigators had followed numerous leads but that fading memories, fear of coming forward and the passage of time had complicated the investigation. Police also identified two persons of interest they believed were at Borealis Park on the night of the killings, but no charges were laid. The only update from the RCMP Ansley has gotten is that the investigation remains active.
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Anyone with information about the deaths of James and William Beck is asked to contact Wood Buffalo RCMP or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
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The link to the go-fund me campaign can be found here
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