The family of a severely autistic Edmonton boy who was killed by his father rebuffed repeated offers of help from the provincial government, a fatality inquiry was told Thursday.

Jeremy Bostick, 11, was found dead in the basement of a north Edmonton home along with his father Jeff Bostick on Sept. 27, 2009. The older Bostick barricaded himself and his son in the room, sealed the vents and opened a cylinder of carbon dioxide.

Jeremy Bostick is seen here in a 2002 CBC video with his mother Jackie McKean. CBC

Jeff Bostick's common-law wife, Deena Caputo, told the inquiry earlier this week that the struggle to get help for Jeremy led him to kill his son and take his own life.

But Mary Ann Sinclair, the manager of the Family Support for Children with Disabilities Program in Edmonton, testified it was hard to get Jeff Bostick to respond to phone calls. When she suggested places he could call to get help for Jeremy, Bostick never followed up, she said.

Sinclair said another offer for around-the-clock care was made when Jeremy was in the hospital getting emergency treatment, but again, the family refused help.

The private treatment centre Jeremy was in at the time cost the province $32,000 a month and was always supposed to be a temporary option, Sinclair said. Jeff Bostick would never return her calls when she tried to push the family to look at more permanent placements.

The inquiry has heard that Jeremy had been improving at the private treatment centre under the care of two dedicated workers. Caputo testified that Bostick shut down emotionally after learning his son would have to be transferred to a group home.