Jonathan Thimpsen, an innocent seven-year-old, fell victim to a brutal murder fueled by the dark satanic delusions of Sandy Charles, 14.
IN the summer of 1995, a quiet Canadian community was shattered by a crime so horrific that it remains one of the the country’s most haunting tragedies.
Charles led Jonathan into the woods in La Orange, Saskatchewan, with the help of his eight-year-old pal, William Martin.
The pair inflicted unimaginable violence on the helpless boy – stabbing him multiple times, striking him with a rock and a beer bottle before mutilating his body.
Charles – who was obsessed with the horror Warlock – believed committing the crime would bring him closer to Satan.
Now episode one of Killer Kids, a new documentary series which airs on Monday, sheds light on the nightmare murder that shocked a nation and asked questions about the influence of violent images on children.
Jonathan’s family realised he had gone missing on Sunday, July 9, 1995, and immediately called the cops to report him missing.
Police frantically searched for clues that could help them locate Jonathan.
Alongside a search party, missing person’s posters were plastered all over the town pleading for information on Jonathan’s whereabouts.
Volunteer groups went door to door in the community, which has a population of about 5,000, and searched in wooded areas.
But what they could not know was that a day before, he had fallen into the grips of twisted teenager Sandy Charles, who was on the prowl for a victim so he could carry out a deadly Satanic ritual.
Len Carlson, the officer in charge of the investigation explains his attempts to trace Jonathan’s steps.
“I attended to a location where it was determined he had last been seen and that was with Sandy Charles and another friend of Sandy’s,” he explains.
“They were involved in a ball game, the three of them in the backyard of Sandy Charles’ house.”
According to investigators, Charles, who had turned 14 just two days before the murder, used the ballgame to lure Jonathan to his home.
When asked by investigators, Charles claimed he had played with Jonathan two weeks ago but had not seen him since.
However, after investigators widened the search on July 11, little Jonathan’s body was discovered, shocking even the most experienced detectives.
He was found lying on the ground with horrific injuries, including a knife wound in his eye, which revealed the severity of the fatal attack.
On questioning, Charles and his accomplice both initially denied any involvement in Jonathan’s murder, they soon buckled and admitted they had killed him.
Len says: “It was through an interview with Sandy Charles that the details of this horrific crime were identified.”
