'Just give me back my son': St. Stephen mom pleads for closure in homicide case

The terrible singing might be what Amanda Frigault misses most abouther teenage son.

The St. Stephen mother has been living in a waking nightmare for two years since Brayden Thibault vanished. She hasn't seen or heard a trace of him, just "terrible rumours" and scant details from investigators.

"He was an amazing athlete and happiest when he was playing sports," Frigaultsaid. "But he was a really great brother to his siblings. And he was a really great friend.

"I miss all of him. His sense of humour. His sarcasmbeing a snotty teenager and not wanting to clean his room. And breaking the rules and loving his grandparents the way he did. And how kind he was to kids. And how much he loved me. And how close we were."

• St. Stephen teen's 2017 disappearance being investigated as homicide, RCMP say
• 'What nightmares are made of': Mom begs for son to come home a year after disappearance

Thibault was 17 when he was last seen July 31, 2017, on Gibson Street on Fredericton's north side. On Tuesday, almost exactly two years later, New Brunswick RCMP said publicly that his disappearance is being investigated as a homicide.

But Frigault knew this. It's a secret she kept for many months after an officer sat her down at her kitchen table in September 2017 and said they believe her son is dead. Police, however, told the public his disappearance was deemed "suspicious" at that time.

"I've carried that with me," she said, adding she's had "many" conversations, as early as February 2018, with police about issuing the release stating the case is considered a homicide.

On one hand, it's a relief her son's cause of death ispublic. But on the other, it's somethingshe wasn't ready for.

"There was nothing that could have prepared me," she said. "I think it was worse than hearing it the first time."

She learned Monday the release would be issued the following day. But Frigault said she doesn't understand the timing. She wants to know what changed since February2018, when policefirst started talking about the release.

It's one of the many questions she has about her son's disappearance.

"You pray that somebody will have enough courage to come forward and just give me back my son," she said.

"That's all I want. Of course, justice for him. But if I had to choose one or the other, it would definitely be just to have him home. So I know where he is."

Searching 'areas of interest'

Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh, a spokesperson forthe New Brunswick RCMP, said itsmajor crime unit will be conducting searches for Thibault's remains in "areas of interest" in coming weeks. She did not elaborate on where those locations are.

In an interview Tuesday, Rogers-Marsh would not reveal what policelearned to declare the matter a homicide, saying the force has to avoid jeopardizing the investigation.

"We believethrough our investigation, that Brayden is deceased. We want to bring him home and give some sense of closure to his family," saidRogers-Marsh.

Frigault said she received a similar response after asking similar questions, like why the searches are being conducted now and not months ago.She said she's been kept "very much in the dark."

Police are once again urging specific, unnamed individuals to come forward.

"We know there are people who know what happened to Brayden and where his remains are located," Rogers-Marsh said. "We know there are people who may have heard others talking about what happened to Brayden.

"There are ways to provide that information confidentially. We are asking those people to do the right thing and contact police or Crime Stoppers."

• Mother makes desperate plea for St. Stephen teen's safe return home

Frigault echoed the plea on Thursday the same plea she made at an RCMP news conference last year.

'Everybody knows something'

She's hopeful now the case has been publicly deemed a homicide it will prompt those people to come forward.

"Everybody knows something," Frigault said, describing rumours that spread through the small southwestern New Brunswick community and the pain of trying to decipher fact from fiction.

"Since the beginning, terrible rumors they are what my nightmares are made of, and you know unfortunately my children have heard them."

She said she wants him home, close to her, so she knows where he is and the family can move forward.

Frigault recalled having to explain to her children their brother wasn't coming home after the September chat with police. Now, she has to relive those conversations. Thibault was a brother to five.

"It's hard to accept it when you know the police tell you he's dead, but you can't find him," she said.

"It's hard to put those together and you know especially his sister, she's nine years old, she has put it together that he's in heaven on her own because he would never go this long and not talk to her."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Brunswick RCMP's major crime unit at 506-452-4252. Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers Secure Web Tips atwww.crimenb.caor by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).