LAC LA BICHE, Alta - The parents of a slain Mountie have issued a last-minute plea to his widow begging her not to have his body dug up so it can be relocated to the national RCMP cemetery in Regina.
CTV Edmonton reported on Saturday night that it had obtained a letter written by Grace and Ron Johnston to their daughter-in-law Kelly Johnston.
"Kelly .... our family and some of yours are appealing to you, your inner sense of goodness, to consider showing your real, pure, true love, honour and respect for Leo and stop the disinterment," reads the letter.
"If you truly believe that you knew Leo as you say you did, you must know Leo's beliefs and faith that he was raised with are being desecrated, as well as his spiritual anjd ancestral heritage as a Metis - that he must not be disturbed as he lies ... in sacred ground."
Const. Leo Johnston was one of four officers gunned down by James Roszko during a stakeout on his property near Mayerthorpe, Alta., in March 2005.
His body is scheduled to be moved Monday.
Last week, a court upheld a decision by the Alberta government to allow Johnston's widow the right to move the body.
Johnston's parents have vigorously opposed the move, arguing they wanted the body to stay in his hometown of Lac La Biche, something they said their son had also wished for.
Kelly Johnston, who could not be reached for comment Saturday, has said in court documents that the move is "the best way to honour and respect" her husband.
"Knowing my husband, I truly believe that he would have chosen the RCMP cemetery . . . as his final resting place," she wrote.
