Top court avoids Mountie's burial case

OTTAWA, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court of Canada refused Thursday to intervene in a family dispute about where the remains of a slain Mountie should be buried.

A three-judge panel gave no reason for refusing to hear the appeal that pitted the widow of Constable Leo Johnston against his parents as to where his remains should rest, the Canwest News Service reported.

Johnson was one of four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers gunned down in an Alberta ambush by a man who then killed himself in March 2005.

He was buried near his hometown of Lac la Biche, Alberta, about 130 miles northeast of Edmonton. Months later, his wife, Kelly Johnson, learned there was a national cemetery for RCMP officers near Regina, Saskatchewan, and arranged for his remains to be moved there.

The officers' parents waged legal battles against the move that went to the Alberta Court of Appeal, which six months ago upheld the widow's request. It ruled as his spouse and administrator of Johnston's estate, Kelly Johnson's rights trumped those of his parents, the Globe and Mail reported.