Crown prosecutors will not press charges in the stabbing death of Surrey teen Jamie Kehoe, saying there is little likelihood the person suspected of causing his death could be convicted.
Kehoe, 18, died Oct. 8, 2011, a day after his throat was slashed during a fight between his friend and another young man on a late-night bus at 72nd Avenue and 128th Street.
Initial reports from police in October suggested Kehoe was stabbed after intervening in a fight between two young women by a suspect who fled the scene.
However, in a statement released late Thursday, Crown spokesman Neil McKenzie said it appears the suspect only pulled a knife in self-defence after Kehoe’s friend, who has not been identified, attacked him with a collapsible metal baton.
During the ensuing struggle, which began after a female friend of Kehoe called the suspect’s female friend a “bitch,” Kehoe was stabbed in the neck. He died in hospital.
MacKenzie said the evidence provided by police doesn’t merit charges against the suspect, as it’s not clear how the fatal wound was inflicted or who was responsible for it.
McKenzie said Kehoe’s friend also lied to police about his involvement, not admitting to his role in the fight until his fourth interview with police. The baton was capable of causing death, police said.
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According to the police investigation, Kehoe and three friends – one male, two female – drank whisky before boarding a bus at 72 Avenue and 134 Street in Surrey, just before midnight.
Another couple, a young man and woman, boarded the bus and exchanged words with Kehoe’s friends. When the couple exited the bus, one of Kehoe’s female friends called the woman a “bitch.” That woman got back on the bus and struck the other woman in the face, starting the fight.
Police initially believed Kehoe’s friend tried to stop the fight. The investigation showed the friend actually shouted “Let it happen, let them fight,” later pulling the baton and telling the suspect he was “f—ing dead.”
McKenzie said it appears Kehoe’s friend began striking the suspect with the baton before the suspect retaliated by swinging a small knife. It’s not clear when or how Kehoe was struck.
At the time of his death, Kehoe had just graduated from Delta’s Delview Secondary. At a funeral packed with hundreds of people, he was described as a quiet, happy kid who enjoyed skateboarding.
Kehoe’s family could not be reached for comment.
12-04 – Charge Assessment Decision Announced in Death of Jamie Kehoe
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