Sask. hockey player resting at home after neck slashed by skate
10h ago
'Considering the circumstances ... this is best-case scenario,' Cole Cusitar said.
The Crown will pursue an adult sentence against a 17-year-old boy, should he be convicted of murder in the death of a 31-year-old man in Saskatoon.
The boy appeared Tuesday in Saskatoon Provincial Court. He’s charged alongside another boy, 15, in the March 12 death of Mark Enwaya.
Enwaya, a newcomer from Iraq, was shot and killed in an alley off of Avenue Q South while reportedly walking home from work. His death prompted police to issue an alert about a spike in violence in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood around St. Paul’s Hospital.
Members of Enwaya’s family broke into sobs and screaming when the boy was brought into the courtroom Tuesday. Judge Sanjeev Anand ordered a pause in the proceedings and issued a warning that while he understood emotions were running high, any further disturbance would force him to order people out of the courtroom.
When the hearing resumed, prosecutor Ainsley Furlonger filed notice with the court that the Crown would be seeking an adult sentence in the event of a conviction.
Defence requests psychiatric examination, notes teen may suffer from PTSD
Defence lawyer Mike Nolin told court he wanted the boy assessed at Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford.
He said he wanted psychiatrists to determine both the boy’s fitness to stand trial and whether he can be held criminally responsible for his actions.
Nolin explained that the teen had exhibited odd behaviour during discussions following his arrest, including difficulties with general memory and cognition and no recollection of events around Enwaya’s death.
He said the boy had been to one appointment with a psychiatrist before Enwaya’s death amid concerns he was suffering post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from a violent incident last year in which he was held against his will and stabbed seven times.
Anand ordered the assessment and agreed to adjourn the boy’s case until May 23.
The other boy charged in Enwaya’s death is due back in court on April 16.