Family of victim afraid youth will kill again, Nipawin court hears

By Susan McNeil

CONTENT WARNING: The following story contains disturbing descriptions of violence.

The family members of a 37-year-old pregnant Choiceland mother believe the teen who bludgeoned her, wrapped a USB cable around her neck and then choked her to death with his hands will kill again.

The deceased’s mother-in-law told Nipawin Provincial Court on Tuesday morning she is afraid the youth will come after her and other family members.

“The one thing I am sure about is that if (the youth) is allowed back home, I honestly feel like he is going to do this again,” the grandmother said.

At least 10 family members were on hand at the courthouse as Judge Lloyd Stang heard submissions from Crown and defence lawyers on what would be an appropriate sentence for the teen who was 13 when he killed his mother on Sept. 24, 2021. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder several months ago.

The name of the teen cannot be disclosed due to provisions under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The names of the family members are also withheld from this story to avoid identifying the teen.

The youth had previously threatened to kill other relatives and was not happy about the fact his mother was about to have another child, court heard.

The unborn baby would have been the fifth child for the mother and her third son.

Three of the children of the extended family also wrote statements that were submitted to the court. As the children were not present, their statements were read into record by Crown prosecutor Wade Rogers.

The letters were addressed directly to the boy they considered a cousin, including a comment that the teen killer had planned his action, “saying it 1,000 times in school,” according to one statement.

Court heard the teen made previous attempts on his mother’s life. He once attacked her with two large knives and threatened to kill her if she ever got pregnant again.

On the day she died, the RCMP was called to the home at about 1:30 a.m. and when officers arrived, they found the teen standing outside with blood on his clothing.

Inside, the Mounties found a family member performing CPR on the mother, who was later pronounced dead by responding EMS workers.

Three other children were in the home at the time.

The mother had left her previous relationship, afraid for her own life and the lives of her children, court heard from the grandmother.

She then began a relationship with the man who was to be the father of her fifth child. The mother’s pregnancy was near term.

“All your mom (and my son) ever did was try to get you the help you needed and it’s too bad you didn’t accept it,” the grandmother said to the teen.

The teen’s stepfather had a stroke in the time since the murder happened and said he has “lost the enjoyment and excitement of seeing a new life.”

All of the family members asked for the maximum sentence permitted by law, which is seven years of combined custody and community supervision.

“The mother that I saw loved her children with every inch of her being and that has been taken away,” an aunt said in court. “This is (her) last chance to get her son the help he needs.”

Concern about the teen’s emotional stability is further evident when the pre-sentence and psychological reports are considered.

“I find the reports somewhat disturbing,” Rogers said. “The only way he can achieve his goal of going back to live with his father was to kill his mother. He has no remorse at all. He feels he was justified. He has no insight into the harm he has done.”

The killing was planned and deliberate and involved a vulnerable person, he pointed out to Stang.

“She was nine months pregnant, he waited until she was asleep, and he fully intended to kill her,” Rogers said.

Rogers asked Stang to consider the full sentence of seven years, starting from the day of conviction and not the day of incarceration, which would mean no credit for time already served.

“He is going to need all the help he can get,” Rogers said. “The family has expressed grave concerns that is not enough time and I can understand why.”

The court has been asked to impose an Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision order sentence, which is a form of intensive custodial treatment for youth. It is a special and rare sentence reserved for serious violent offenders.

With the exception of pre-trial custody, the teen’s lawyer, Brian Pfefferle, agreed with the maximum sentence submission.

Pfefferle pointed out the concept that youth do not understand and respond to consequences the same way adults do as their brains are not fully developed.

“Consider this diminished moral blameworthiness,” he submitted, calling the crime senseless and saying his client lacked insight into the impact of his actions and this demonstrates a reduced maturity.

“The only thing more senseless is that he thought some kind of move would happen with this act,” Pfefferle said.

The teen’s father was listening to the proceedings by telephone and was given an opportunity to speak.

“I’d like to say I’m going to be there for (him) and I will never give up on him,” he said.

Along with grief, there is anger from the family who tried to take the teen into their fold.

“To be told your full-term nephew is not a person is gut-wrenching,” said the aunt.

The baby’s father had no rights to his unborn son because he and the mother were days away from reaching the one-year mark that would make them legal common law spouses.

“I hope the image of Sept. 24 are forever burned in his mind,” said the aunt, staring directly at the teen. “He will never, ever, feel her warm embrace again. Was it worth it?”

The man who tried to fill the teen’s grandfather role and remembered shared times with music and a love of carpentry no longer wants anything to do with him.

“One of the biggest reasons your mother moved from the farm was for the protection of you and your siblings,” he said.

“You are a really dangerous person who cannot be trusted at all. You can look and act innocent in one moment and then ruthlessly snuff out a life in another. I hope you suffer daily with guilt and pain.”

Stang said he needed time to consider the submissions and case law presented by both parties and set the sentencing date as Jan. 20 in Nipawin Provincial Court.