The case before the courts occurred in Choiceland, SK. (Susan McNeil/northeastNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Youth Crime

14-year-old pleads guilty to killing pregnant mom

Sep 7, 2022 | 5:43 PM

A 14-year-old pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of his pregnant mother almost one year ago.

The youth, who was 13 at the time of the killing in Choiceland, appeared in Nipawin Provincial Court by CCTV Wednesday, bringing back months of pain for watching family members.

“You’re re-living the pain over and over and over again,” said one family member, who would have counted the baby, named Timothy, as her 11^th grandchild.

She and the baby’s paternal aunt held him, took his photo, prepared him for burial, and wore shirts with the baby’s photo combined with his mother’s to every court appearance.

He weighed eight pounds at the time and was due to be born the day before he died in the womb of his 37-year-old mother.

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Timothy’s father has found the court process too painful to attend and at 42 has already suffered a stroke, brought on by the stress, said his mother and sister.

The two women developed a close bond with the expectant mom and said she commented often on having found a home.

“She said ‘I’m so happy to be in a family that loves me,” the grandmother said.

Originally, the youth, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), was charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge following weeks of negotiation.

Both the Crown prosecutors and defence counsel said they will be applying for an IRCS (Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision) sentence.

“We request a pre-sentence report with a specific (application) for IRCS,” said defense counsel Brian Pfefferle.

In addition to assessing the risk of future violent offences, the IRCS report is meant to ensure youth charged with violent offences get intensive treatment while in custody.

The next court date in the matter has been set for Nov. 2 with another the following week, at which time both reports should be ready.

The Crown will also have the task of gathering all the information needed for the judge to sentence the youth.

Included will be a “significant number of victim impact statements”, said prosecutor Lori O’Connor.

Judge Lloyd Stang also vacated an order for the youth to have no contact with his siblings, two of whom are younger than him and one who is older.

That decision worried the grandmother.

“I don’t think he should be allowed contact with his siblings,” she said.

The maximum sentence for second-degree murder under the YCJA is seven years but that cannot exceed more than four years of continuous custody starting from the date of committal.

Part of the sentence will be conditional supervision in the community.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertNOW