“I play the video of (the accused) and his friends taunting and torturing my little cousin to death in my head daily, paralyzed by how to keep that from happening again to someone I love.”
A teenager who participated in a deadly five-on-one attack on an Edmonton high school student will serve an additional four months in jail.
The 17-year-old youth stood in the prisoner’s box of an Edmonton Court of King’s Bench courtroom Thursday and hung his head as Justice Nathan Whitling said he deserved time behind bars for his role in the “swarming” assault.
“This was not a fair fight, and the deceased was essentially defenceless,” Whitling said. “(The accused) decided to take part in this group attack.”
Whitling nonetheless found the accused’s level of participation in the attack was “low,” noting that based on surveillance footage, he neither struck the victim nor impeded his ability to escape.
Whitling heard nearly two dozen statements from the victim’s friends, family and school community.
The victim’s cousin — who cannot be named under the publication ban — said she lives in constant fear of losing another loved one. The attack has impacted her as a wife, mother and teacher, she said.
“I play the video of (the accused) and his friends taunting and torturing my little cousin to death in my head daily, paralyzed by how to keep that from happening again to someone I love,” she said.”
She then addressed the accused: “If you had done the right thing and gone to your classes … we would not be sitting here today.”
Seven youth were initially charged with second-degree murder. The Crown later downgraded the charges to manslaughter in all but the case of the accused stabber, who has yet to face trial.
Under Canada’s youth sentencing rules, the maximum sentence for a youth convicted of manslaughter is three years.
Crown prosecutor Jeff Rudiak argued for a sentence of one year, including eight months in jail and four months of mandatory supervision. He also asked for a year of probation.
“This happened at a school, a public place where everyone should feel safe,” he said.
Defence lawyer Curtis Steeves argued against a jail term, saying a six-month term of supervision, reduced by four months for BJ’s week in jail and 103 days on house arrest, was appropriate. He agreed with the year of probation.
Steeves noted his client was just 15 at the time of the assault and has otherwise been a peaceful, law-abiding young person. He cited the Supreme Court decision establishing youth have “diminished responsibility in a moral and intellectual sense” because their brains are not fully developed.
A pre-sentence report described BJ — who wore a sweater vest and khakis in court — as “quiet” and “shy.” He declined an opportunity to address court.
“He’s genuinely accepted responsibility, he’s taken real steps toward rehabilitation, he’s saved a significant amount of court time (by pleading guilty),” Steeves said.
Whitling ultimately sided with the Crown but reduced BJ’s sentence by four months for the pretrial custody and house arrest.
While there was no evidence BJ knew one of his friends was carrying a knife, he nevertheless participated in an attack in which one of the aggressors was carrying a field hockey stick, Whitling said.
Outside court, the victim’s cousin said her family is not happy with the sentence, but relieved BJ will face jail time.
She believes he has shown “no remorse, no empathy and no regret” for her cousin’s killing.
“We had dreams of watching (him) grow into a remarkable young man, of celebrating his milestones, of seeing him forge his own path in the world,” she said in her victim impact statement. “Those dreams have been replaced by a void that can never be filled.”