Young killer to be released under supervision
18-year-old fatally stabbed stepfather in head outside Nasonworth home May 13, 2024, when he was 17; court hears he’s made improvements while on remand over past 1½ years
A teenager who killed a family member last year will be freed from custody this week under community supervision, but he’ll be making his way forward without any family support, a court heard Monday.
The 18-year-old man pleaded guilty this summer to a count of second-degree murder, stemming from the stabbing death of his stepfather outside a home in Nasonworth on May 13, 2024.
The offender was 17 years old at the time, so his identity is protected under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Given his relationship to the 34-year-old victim, the Fredericton Independent isn’t naming him either, as it could tend to identify the offender as well.
Though the Crown originally filed an application to have the defendant sentenced as an adult in the event of a conviction, it withdrew that application in light of a July decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that outlined stricter parameters for sentencing youths as adults.
The case was back before Court of King’s Bench Justice Richard Petrie at the Burton Courthouse on Monday for a sentencing hearing.
