OTTAWA - The country's top court has refused to intervene in a family dispute over the final resting place of Leo Johnston, one of four Mounties killed in the Mayerthorpe massacre.
In a decision released without comment Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected a request by Johnston's parents to review the case.
The decision appears to clear the way for Johnston's widow Kelly to exhume his body from the cemetery where it now rests in Lac La Biche, Alta., and move it to a national RCMP cemetery in Regina.
Parents Grace and Ron Johnston have been fighting the move, saying their son wanted to be buried in his hometown. They also say moving the body after it's been interred would violate Metis tradition.
Kelly Johnston says her husband would be honoured by the move to the national cemetery. The courts in Alberta sided with her, saying the wishes of the widow take legal precedence over those of the parents.
Johnston and three other RCMP officers were gunned down by cop hater James Roszko as they staked out his farm in Mayerthorpe, Alta., in March 2005.
