Winnipeg teen sentenced after killing respected community leader in Charleswood home

WIINNIPEG — A Winnipeg teen has received the maximum youth sentence after admitting to the killing of a Charleswood grandmother last year.

Neither the youth nor the 66-year-old victim can be identified due to a publication ban, but the two were known each other.

The 16-year-old was charged with first-degree murder after the attack inside the victim’s Charleswood home on May 19, 2015.

On Friday he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, accepting the maximum sentence of seven years; four years spent in a youth jail and three years under supervised probation.

Both the defence and prosecutor agreed to a joint recommendation of seven years.

The teen entered court in shackles wearing beige khaki pants, a black suit jacket and white dress shirt. He hung his head and wiped away tears as his parents and aunts sat in the gallery.

“I hope you realize how lucky you are to have the support you have after being charged of what you did,” Justice Brenda Keyser said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I hope you realize how lucky you are to have the support you have after being charged of what you did," Justice Brenda Keyser said.

“He’s going to be a loss to his family for that period of time and that’s appropriate.”

When asked by the judge if he had anything to say, he said, “I’m sorry, that’s all I want to say.”

The teen’s lawyer, Greg Brodsky said on the day of the killing, the teen had been into marijuana and had recently been hanging around a rough crowd.

The victim made attempts to get the teen to change his ways and during an argument, she slapped him.

“He lost it,” Brodsky said. “This was a spontaneous action…he didn’t understand why (the victim) wanted him to disassociate with his friends.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He lost it," Brodsky said. "This was a spontaneous action…he didn't understand why (the victim) wanted him to disassociate with his friends."

The teen was arrested at the home.

The victim was a well respected advocate for First Nations issues in northern Manitoba.

“All the best to you,” Justice Keyser said to the teen.”I trust we won’t see you in court for anything else.”

As he was led out of court by sheriffs, his mother said, “I love you, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

The teen has been in custody since his arrest in May.  He will not get credit for time served.