Python that killed 2 Canadian boys euthanized

The 100-pound African rock python that escaped from its enclosure and killed two boys as they slept in New Brunswick, Canada, was euthanized, police said. Sgt. Alain Tremblay said the snake was sent to Fredericton for a necropsy. Meanwhile, autopsies were being conducted on the bodies of the two boys -- Connor Barthe, 6, and Noah Barthe, 4 -- to provide details on what happened to the brothers, Tremblay told CBC News. Connor and Noah were found dead Monday in a second-floor apartment above a reptile shop. The boys were sleeping in the apartment as part of a sleepover with the shop owner's son at the time they were attacked by the snake. Shop owner Jean-Claude Savoie said he believes the snake escaped its enclosure, slithered into the building's ventilation system and dropped down through the ceiling into the apartment. The snake was found in the same room as the two boys' bodies, CBC said. Savoie's son was also in the room, unharmed. Steven Benteau, a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, said African rock pythons are not permitted in New Brunswick under exotic wildlife regulations. "It is illegal for anyone to keep any exotic species that is not listed in the regulation unless they have a permit from the Department of Natural Resources," a statement from the department said.