Questions Surface In Death Of Boys Strangled By Python

More questions are being raised about the two young boys that were strangled to death by a python. INSIDE EDITION has the story.

They're tragic, just-released photos of two young brothers cleaning a cage that may have housed the 15-foot python that strangled them in their sleep.

In one photo, six-year-old Connor Barthe used a mop and four-year-old Noah laughed as they scrubbed the cage in their underwear. A third boy is seen who is the son of the pet shop owner who owned the python.

In another photo, Connor empties a water bucket while Noah watched.

Connor and Noah’s devastated mother just posted the photos on her Facebook page along with another one that shows the three boys in the snake cage playing with toy trucks.     

Meanwhile, some snake experts are now speculating that the 100-pound African rock python may have escaped from its cage and strangled Connor and Noah because it smelled the scent of animals on them.

Their grief-stricken uncle said at a press conference the boys had visited a farm on the day they died.

Their uncle said, “They played with llamas and goats and horses. They played with dogs and cats in the hay loft.  They went for a ride in the farm tractor, which I’m told they even let them steer the tractor. So they had a super day.”

The pet shop owner in New Brunswick, Canada, could face criminal charges as questions arise about the tragic incident.

The Daily Beast headline reads: "Python Murder Mystery: How Did A Snake Kill Two Young Boys?" The website quotes snake experts who are skeptical that the python could have killed Connor and Noah.

"I don't know how (the boys) wouldn't have got up and run away. The dots don't quite connect," says one.

Another South African snake expert said, "I'm totally skeptical. Snakes don't kill for fun. It takes far too much energy." 

UPDATE: According to the autopsy results, the brothers were asphyxiated by the python.