A teenager has been sentenced to prison for fatally stabbing an Edmonton boy outside a high school

An Edmonton teenager has pleaded guilty to stabbing a 16-year-old boy in a fatal group attack outside the victim’s high school in 2022.

The young man, now 17, was 14 at the time of the attack. On Tuesday, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 18 months of supervision.

The youth was charged with second-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to the lesser crime of manslaughter.

His three-year sentence came after a joint application by the Crown and defense for an intensive rehabilitation and supervision order – a sentencing option for youths convicted of serious offenses who suffer from mental illness or mental disorder.

The teenager, who appeared in court on Tuesday, is one of a group of seven people accused of murder. None of them can be identified under the Juvenile Justice Act, which prohibits the naming of anyone accused or convicted of an offense under the age of 18.

The murdered teenager’s name and the school he attended are also subject to a court-ordered publication ban.

According to the agreed facts presented in the guilty plea in the case, the fatal attack, which occurred on April 8, 2022, occurred after the formation of “two opposing groups of young people.”

Despite constant attacks in which groups targeted a lone member of the other side, no one was seriously injured in the months leading up to the killing.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Lynn Michele Angotti said that while the young man she sentenced was responsible for the victim’s death, she noted the impact of a “cycle of violence between two groups.” She said she could not explain the “senseless” attack.

“Violence that occurs anywhere is abhorrent, but this violence has ruined many people’s sense of safety where their children go to school,” she said.

The fourth teenager from a group of seven was sentenced

He is the fourth person to plead guilty in this case, but the only one to admit to inflicting one of the wounds that resulted in the death of the 10th-grade student.

Another teenager, who admitted taking part in the group attack but did not stab or punch the victim, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year.

The young man and young woman also pleaded guilty to participating in the armed robbery. Each admitted that they had driven the alleged attackers from the scene but had not taken part in the attack.

Victim statements were read aloud in court for the fourth time on Tuesday, along with a number of community impact statements. Some were from people who said they had never met the victim, but after hearing what happened to them, they felt an overwhelming sense of fear for the safety of their children.

“Every day I play in my head the recording of (the teenager) and his friends fatally taunting my little cousin,” one of the victim’s family members told the court.

“We hope that by sharing our pain you will understand the depth of our loss and the need for justice in the face of such senseless cruelty.”

On Tuesday, the teenager sat in court next to his defense attorney, and his father watched the whole thing from the gallery. He refused to appear in court before the verdict was handed down.

“He understands the seriousness of the crime and as a defense attorney, I can honestly say that he truly regrets his actions,” defense attorney Cristian Manucci said.

The young man’s treatment and supervision plan is intended to give him insight into his actions and learning how to handle future situations differently, Manucci said.

“He’s a young person. We can’t throw away the key. Even though many people would like to, it doesn’t work that way. Rehabilitation is the most important thing here.”

The teenager admits to inflicting one stab wound

According to the established facts presented in the case, on the morning of the attack, several teenagers met at a gas station instead of going to school.

Split between two different cars, they drove together to different locations, while the victim received a group chat message on his phone “warning that members of the other party were on the road that day.”

The group picked up passengers from two high schools and visited a recreation center. Other agreed facts, starting with the confession of a teenager who admitted driving one of the cars, say that members of the group were “looking for someone to fight” at the recreation center but found no one.

The teens eventually drove to the high school the victim attended and arrived in two separate cars around 2:40 p.m.

The court heard that people in both cars pointed to the Year 10 boy and someone said: “That’s one of them!”

A total of five boys exited both vehicles and chased after the victim, while several other youths remained in both cars.

The teenager sentenced on Tuesday admitted to running after the victim. The two “wrestled” before the boy managed to push him away.

According to reports, another boy chasing the victim had a field hockey stick and two others were shooting with a pellet gun. The court heard one of the boys in the group overtook the victim again, knocking him to the ground while the group “gathered… punching and shooting bullets.”

At this point, according to the established facts, the victim was cut in the arm and stabbed in the chest. The document does not indicate who caused the injuries.

The teenager sentenced on Tuesday admitted that he caught up with the victim after he managed to escape for the last time by stabbing him in the lower back. This damaged his kidney, causing bleeding that “significantly increased” the overall blood loss that contributed to his death.

The boy fell to the floor and didn’t get up again. Five boys, part of the group of teenagers who were later charged, got back into their cars and drove away.

The victim died in hospital a few days later, on April 15, 2022.

Court proceedings are still ongoing for three young men accused of taking part in the attack.

One teenager’s murder trial began last spring but was adjourned when his defense requested more details about the Crown’s specific accusations and both sides concluded they needed more time to consider the evidence. The proceedings are scheduled to resume in March.

The trial of the remaining two boys ended at the end of last year. A decision on this matter can be expected next week.