The bodies of Barry Boenke and Susan Trudel were found on this Strathcona County property on June 1. (CBC)Charges against a 14-year-old boy accused of being an accessory after the fact in the slayings of Barry Boenke and Susan Trudel have been upgraded to first-degree murder, RCMP announced Wednesday.

The bodies of Boenke, 68, and Trudel, 50, were discovered June 1 on property in Strathcona County, east of Edmonton, while police were investigating the theft of a truck that had been stopped in Edmonton.

On June 3, RCMP announced two 14-year-old boys — both residents of a nearby group home run by Bosco Homes — had been charged.

One boy was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The other youth was originally charged with two counts of being an accessory after the fact to murder.

Both youths ran away from the home and committed several crimes before Boenke and Trudel were found dead, police allege.

The youths also both face a number of charges announced in August, including break and enter, mischief and theft.

Neither youth can be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. They will appear in Sherwood Park youth court on Tuesday.

Bosco Homes facility closed on Tuesday

The news of the upgraded charges comes the day after the last of the clients at the Ranch were moved out of the facility.

The remaining children were transferred to other care facilities on Tuesday, said Trevor Coulombe, spokesman for Alberta Children and Youth Services.

The Ranch became the focus of controversy after the charges were laid against the two teens. People in the community had long-standing concerns about the number of runaways from the home and a working group was set up to find solutions.

In the meantime, the Ranch was receiving fewer and fewer clients and by September, Bosco Homes announced it was shutting down all its Alberta operations.

However, after reaching a deal with the province, Bosco relented, deciding only to close the Ranch, and continue operating the rest of its schools and group homes.

Now that the Ranch is closed, its future is not clear. Bruce Armson, a director with Bosco Homes, said the board is considering its options.

The closure cost 111 employees of Bosco Homes their jobs.