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Second-degree murder charges have been laid against two teens in the beating of a 16-year-old boy, who may have been killed during a break-in while housesitting, his father says.  
 
Tony Woodman said he was told the suspects broke into the house in Leaf Rapids on Friday night but were scared off by his son, Keith Anthony Woodman, who was watching the home for a friend who is out of town.  
 
Tony Woodman was told the suspects returned the following night.  
 
"They came back a little better prepared for confrontation," he said. "Either (Keith) was home and they didn't expect it or he caught them in the act."  
 
He said he is awaiting confirmation about the motive and circumstances from the RCMP, who arrested two 16-year-old boys in the northern Manitoba town on Tuesday.  
 
Keith Woodman's body was found in the home on Mikinak Bay on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.  
 
The cause of death was blunt force trauma, RCMP said yesterday.  
 
Tony Woodman said homicide investigators have not told him if a weapon was used.  
 
Keith Woodman knew the suspects, RCMP said.  
 
Tony Woodman said his son was bullied by at least one of them, mostly a couple of years ago, but the bullying curtailed as his son grew in stature and stood up to the people tormenting him.  
 
"This person was always bullying and antagonizing (Keith) and picking fights with him," Tony Woodman said.  
 
The pair got into a fight as recently as a few months ago, Tony Woodman said.  
 
Keith Woodman, a Grade 10 student at the Leaf Rapids Education Centre, the town's only school, was bright and kind, his dad said.  
 
He loved computer games and heavy metal music, used to work at a local store, and was so good at math he tutored other students, his dad said.  
 
"He was very intelligent," said Tony Woodman, 65, a retired miner.  
 
Tony Woodman said the family has received "tremendous" support from the town of about 540 people.  
 
"Everybody in the community has been very good," he said.  
 
He said about 150 people attended a candlelight vigil Tuesday night outside the house where his son's body was found.  
 
"It showed me that (this town) is closer than I thought it was," he said.  
 
A wake is being held tomorrow night at 8 p.m. and a funeral Saturday in Wabowden, Tony Woodman said.  
 
Keith Woodman is also survived by a 14-year-old sister and his mom, who lives in Thompson.  
 
Leaf Rapids, a former mining town, is about 1,000 km northwest of Winnipeg.