The RCMP logo is seen outside the force’s ‘E’ division headquarters in Surrey, B.C., on March 16, 2023. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
Murder charges have been filed against three people for the killing of a 12-year-old boy who police say was kidnapped from Edmonton and dumped hundreds of kilometres north of the provincial capital.
The Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit has announced three arrests in the death of Fiasal Hussein, whose remains were found Aug. 6 in the vicinity of Calling Lake, a northern Alberta hamlet located roughly 190 kilometres north of Edmonton.
Insp. Wayne Stevenson of the RCMP’s serious crime branch told reporters during an Oct. 28 press conference at RCMP headquarters in Edmonton that the Athabasca detachment received a 911 call from an unknown person shortly before 3:30 a.m. that day. Police now suspect the caller was Fiasal, who reported that he had been kidnapped and was injured.
Poor network coverage in the area led to a fragmented call, making it impossible for investigators to quickly pinpoint his whereabouts.
Officers found a vehicle that had been reported stolen from Edmonton after arriving at the scene, Stevenson said. He added that officers found evidence of an attack, but did not disclose further details about what occurred.
The boy’s remains were discovered later that morning during an area search and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later ruled the death to be a homicide.
Major crimes unit Sgt. James McConnell told reporters the boy had been lured from his home the day before his body was found.
“It is not immediately clear to us why people would take a young 12-year-old boy under false pretenses to rural Alberta and murder him,” McConnell said.
Three suspects were arrested at residences in Edmonton on Oct. 24, police said.
Cole Morin, 34, and Curtis Brown, 36, have been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with Fiasal’s death and Rachel Stuart, 36, faces a charge of second-degree murder. Police said Stuart is in a common-law relationship with Brown.
McConnell said the victim was linked to people who have criminal ties, including the accused, but he declined to elaborate further.
“We have a 12-year-old boy that had his whole life ahead of him, whose life was taken. I can’t think of any circumstances that would support—or behaviour that would warrant—such an act,” he said. “Parents aren’t supposed to be burying children, and that’s what we have in this case.”
Stevenson said that Fiasal was lured from his home before his death but did not offer any specifics. He said the boy’s parents did not report him missing but have co-operated with police and are now “grieving the loss of their son.”
McConnell also declined to provide details on how the alleged kidnapping unfolded or how the victim was killed. He said those details are part of the investigation and will be disclosed during court proceedings.
The accused are next due in court in November.
