The teenager who admitted to fatally stabbing Devan Selvey outside his east Hamilton high school more than two years ago has received the maximum sentence of seven years.
The youth, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November last year ahead of a scheduled jury trial, will serve another two years in custody.
That’s in addition to the two years he’s already served, plus three years in the community under supervision.
Members of Devan’s family began to sob and cry out in anger as Judge Andrew Goodman read out his sentence to the youth, who was dressed in blue sweats and showed no visible reaction to the judge’s words.
The teen’s family left the courtroom quickly after the sentence was read.
Brian Allen, a cousin of Devan’s mother Shari-Ann Selvey, spoke to reporters outside of the courthouse on behalf of the family.
“Words can’t describe what we’re all feeling right now,” he said.
“It’s like a slap in the face. A life is worth two years, pretty much, is the bottom line. It’s disgusting.”
The Crown and the defence had jointly asked for a sentence of seven years, which is the maximum for second-degree murder under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Allen said there need to be changes made to the Act to ensure youths who commit serious offenses are held responsible.
“If you do an adult crime, you know right from wrong, you’re going to pay for it.”
Both boys were 14 at the time of the stabbing outside of Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in October 2019, and the youth — who cannot be identified under a court-ordered publication ban — is now 16.
In an agreed statement of facts, it was revealed the confrontation between the two accused and the victim was in connection with a bike stolen about a month before the murder.
The events of Oct. 7, 2019 took a turn when bear spray was used on one of Devan’s friends, and the youth stabbed him in the back.
In reading out the decisions for his sentence, Goodman said the stabbing of a “defenseless and vulnerable young man” like Devan can’t be considered anything other than “a very serious and heartless murder”.
“Hopefully today’s sentence can bring some degree of finality and closure to the Selvey family,” he said.
Shari-Ann was not willing to speak with reporters following the sentencing.
Allen said he doesn’t believe the sentence will do much to bring relief to those who will forever feel the pain of losing Devan.
“Devan was a caring kid. He loved the outdoors. He loved the trails. He loved pets. He just generally loved life. And this kid took his life away.”
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