It was one of the most horrific murders in Canadian history: A 12-year-old girl in Medicine Hat, Alberta conspired with her much older boyfriend to murder her parents and younger brother. On Tuesday, she appeared before the courts to request her nightly weekday curfew be lifted.
Here’s a timeline of events in a gruesome case that shocked the country.
April 23, 2006
The bodies of a 42-year-old man and his 48-year-old wife were found in the basement of their suburban Medicine Hat home. The body of their eight-year-old son was discovered in an upstairs bedroom. He had been stabbed in the stomach and his throat slashed. His mother had been stabbed 12 times; his father had been stabbed more than 24 times as he tried to fight off the attackers with a screwdriver.
April 24, 2006
The couple’s 12-year-old daughter, who can never be identified, and her 23-year-old boyfriend, Jeremy Steinke, were arrested in Leader, Saskatchewan. Because of the age difference between the two, the girl’s parents had forbidden her from seeing Steinke, which the court later heard was a motive for the killings.
After the murders, the two were seen laughing and kissing at a house party down the street. They were each charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
In the days following their arrest, the girl denied any role in the murders. She and Steinke blamed each other for the young boy’s murder.
November 8, 2007
The girl, known as “J.R.”, received a 10-year Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) sentence. The IRCS sentence is the maximum in Canada for young offenders between the ages of 12 and 14. J.R.’s sentence included four years in a psychiatric institution and four-and-a-half years under conditional supervision in the community. She received credit for the 18 months she had already spent in custody.
A pre-sentence report found the then 13-year-old had conduct and oppositional defiance disorder.
December 15, 2008
Jeremy Steinke was sentenced to life in prison, with eligibility for parole after 25 years.
November 2010
J.R. began serving an open custody sentence in a Calgary group home with all outings to be approved by the office of Alberta’s Solicitor General.
February 7, 2011
Court heard J.R. was making significant progress in the intensive young offender rehabilitation program. She was earning straight A’s in school.
September 2011
The girl, now almost 18, began attending classes at a Calgary university.
October 2012
Court heard the girl’s rehabilitation was going well and that she had expressed genuine remorse for her actions. In the past, court heard the girl had failed to take responsibility for her role in the killings.
February 17, 2015
J.R., now 21, applied to have her Monday-to-Thursday nightly curfew removed. However, the Justice agreed with a recommendation from her rehabilitation team that the curfew remain until her transition into fully independent living can be assessed.
Watch below: Global’s David Boushy was at J.R.’s sentencing review hearing Feb. 17, 2015.
August 20, 2015– J.R. is scheduled to make her next court appearance.
April 2016 – What is expected to be J.R.’s final court appearance before her 10-year sentence expires a month later.
Comments