Desperate to fit in, Gilles Moreau was a bully's dream. The short, scrawny 16-year-old was easy to push around, throw in lockers and dump in garbage cans. And, best of all, he would never tell.
But since he was found dead, face down in a tiny creek earlier this week, teens in Stony Plain have been wishing they had treated him better.
"I even bullied him around a bit too and feel kind of bad for doing that now," said 15-year-old Sterling Burrows, who was briefly buddies with Mr. Moreau last summer.
Mr. Burrows, who placed fresh cigarettes yesterday on a mound of flowers marking the spot where Mr. Moreau died, said he had "tossed him around like a little doll" because of his appearance and small size.
Though Mr. Moreau's mother, Elaine, said she received anonymous phone calls suggesting her son was not alone when he died, RCMP in Stony Plain, a community of 8,300 about 35 kilometres west of Edmonton, concluded yesterday the death was "non-criminal."
The boy, who had been drinking with friends Saturday night, was last seen walking away from an elementary school near where he was discovered early Sunday morning by Charlotte Fraser as she walked her dog.
Investigators, who found a single set of footprints in the grass leading to Mr. Moreau's body, believe he may have slipped and passed out while trying to step over Whispering Waters Creek, which is just 30 centimetres wide and 30 centimetres deep at that location.
Mr. Moreau's family refused comment yesterday, but blamed his tormentors in a statement released before the police announced that foul play was not involved.
"In our son's attempt to be accepted and fit in, he allowed himself to be used as a court jester by fellow peers, sadly resulting in his death," the family said in pleading for an end to bullying.
And on Monday Ms. Moreau said, "There's no way in my heart I believe he stumbled and fell into that tiny, little, wee creek."
She said her son always refused to report his harassers.
Just 5 foot 2, skinny and self-conscious, Mr. Moreau resembled Harry Potter, the character in the popular children's novels. Though he was bright, the Grade 11 student attended some special classes at Memorial Composite High School for help with concentration and social skills.
Despite the soul-crushing, regular ridicule he endured, he did a fair bit of picking on people, too. The difference was that the people he harassed fought back, and always won.
"He was kind of rowdy. He was a little guy that always picked on the bigger kids and always got himself in trouble that way," said 16-year-old Kaytee Edwards, who was in his social studies class.
Mr. Moreau was often stuffed into filthy garbage cans and lockers, sometimes remaining confined for a couple of hours. He was also whacked on the backside with canoe paddles and belts.
Jill Mahoney