Youth sentenced for manslaughter, aggravated assault for fatal 2023 Sudbury stabbing

A man, 16 at the time of a 2023 double stabbing in Garson that killed one teen and injured another, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault.

A youth pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a Sudbury court Monday in connection with a fatal stabbing that took place almost three years ago.

The incident took place in Garson on June 14, 2023. The youth, who will turn 19 this fall, also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the attack, in which a 17-year-old male died and an 18-year-old male was injured.

A second teen charged in the case has already pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and uttering threats.

The court heard that two groups of teens met along Falconbridge Road in Garson, planning to fight to settle a dispute.

The youth was carrying a paring knife and used it to stab one victim once in the abdomen and another multiple times in the back.

He and his friend then fled the scene and no attempt was made to call 911 or to help either of the victims.

The 17-year-old was pronounced deceased at Health Sciences North, while the other victim was seriously injured and required surgery.

The interaction was recorded on surveillance video from neighbouring residences.

Assistant Crown attorney Mathieu Ansell provided eight victim impact statements, including three read in court by their authors.

An aunt of the victim described her nephew as ‘someone who was deeply loved” and whose “future was stolen from him.”

She said her family would be “serving a life sentence of grief.”

The mother of the victim said her letter was addressed to the accused, and she read it in court.

“You killed my son and left him on the side of the road. You shattered my entire family,” she read.

“I’ll never recover from what you did … Every single day since June 14, 2023, has been suffering because of you.”

After reading the statement, the mother left the courtroom sobbing.

Defence counsel Michael Burry provided a letter from the young person’s mother, who attended court virtually.

Was abused in foster care

Her letter said she was “here to help my son and give him support in his future.”

The mother said her son had been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, a behavioural condition involving anger and defiance toward authority figures.

She also said her son had spent time in foster care, where he had been abused and experienced the death of a sibling.

The letter called all this a “perfect storm” for a troubled youth, but she said since being in custody, her son has managed to complete Grade 12, enroll in a trades program and work on his social skills.

Once he’s released, she said her son would like to move to Toronto to be closer to his mother and stepfather.

The Crown and defence made a joint submission seeking the maximum sentence for both manslaughter and aggravated assault. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the maximum sentence for manslaughter is three years, while it’s two years for aggravated assault.

Justice Susan Stothart approved the joint submission, ruling that the sentence would be served concurrently. Minus the 1,042 days already served, that leaves just 8.6 months -- or 262 days -- left for the youth to serve.

Everything ‘could have been avoided’

Two-thirds of that time will be served in custody, one-third will in community supervision, followed by 12 months of probation.

He must also submit a sample to the National DNA Data Bank.

Addressing the youth, Stothart told him that “everything that happened that night could have been avoided if you chose not to go out and fight and not to bring a knife.”

She reminded him that the victim’s family must live with the loss for the rest of their lives.

“Your sentence doesn’t come close to their life sentence of grief,” Stothart told the youth.

“Show your family and community you’ve learned from this.”

She also reminded the youth that he is now 18 and is an adult when it comes to the court system.

“Penalties are much stiffer than what you got.”