Eastern P.E.I. teen pleads guilty to manslaughter in shooting death of Tyson MacDonald
CBC
A P.E.I. teenager pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Friday in the death of 17-year-old Tyson MacDonald, who was found dead in Kings County after a six-day search in December 2023.
Appearing at the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, the youth also pleaded guilty to interfering with human remains. The accused cannot be named because of provisions in the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
In Canadian law, manslaughter is causing a death through an unlawful act without having intended to kill.
"In this case, that unlawful act relates to the careless use of a firearm," said Justice Jonathan Coady.
A second youth charged in connection with the case pleaded guilty to public mischief in April.
The court appearance drew a big crowd, as other appearances in the case have done. Demonstrators were on the lawn in front of the court. Inside, there was extra seating in the rear of the courtroom where the proceedings took place, as well as overflow seating with a video feed in another courtroom.
Many of the demonstrators held signs calling for the teen to be sentenced as an adult, saying things like "Big Boy Crime = Big Boy Time," but it was confirmed in court Friday that he will be sentenced as a youth. He was 17 at the time of the crime, but has since turned 18.
MacDonald, who lived in Kings County, was reported missing on Dec. 14 of last year. He had told his parents he was going to a hockey game in Charlottetown with friends.
It took six days to find his remains, and two male youths were arrested that same day.
In court on Friday, Crown prosecutor John Diamond read out an agreed statement of facts — that is, a document that describes what happened, agreed to by both the defence and the prosecution.
The court heard that the teen and MacDonald had intended to go to a hockey game that night, but they went to the teenager's house first and there was a shotgun near the door.
"[The teen] took possession of the firearm, reckless as to whether the safety was on or off, pointed it at Tyson MacDonald and pulled the trigger, striking him in the left side of his face," Diamond read.
The teen said he panicked, and drove MacDonald's body to Greek River Road and left him there. He then picked up the second youth, who would later be charged with public mischief, and they drove to Charlottetown.
That second youth had no knowledge that MacDonald had been killed, according to the teen who pleaded guilty on Friday, and had no role in the death.
Rankin Inlet hamlet councillors recently passed a motion that has had them avoid drinking alcohol for the 12 days leading up to Christmas, with the goal of setting a positive example for the community.
Jason Jacques says he learned a lot about the importance of choosing his words carefully in his first few months as the interim parliamentary budget officer (PBO).
Durham police say a man is dead after suffering multiple stab wounds in Oshawa Tuesday morning.
An internal review of technical outages that caused significant delays at airports and international land borders this fall has exposed critical flaws with the Canada Border Services Agency's IT services.
Two people are in life-threatening condition after being pulled from a house fire in Scarborough Tuesday morning, according to Toronto Fire Services.
Whenever the door opens at the British Grenadier Bookshop, proprietor Steve Douglas doesn’t know who is going to walk through.
A northeastern Ontario potato farmer says he’s shipping more bags of potatoes to southern Ontario to make up for waning demand.
Halifax’s registry of rental properties is now available to the public online, showing what HRM staff believe are the “bulk” of rentals in the city.
A New Brunswick tenant says he’s being pushed out of his rented bungalow as retribution for complaining about his landlord, but his landlord says she’s the victim of an unfair tenancy tribunal ruling that is preventing her from using the unit to house family.
Snow and freezing rain could affect morning commutes on Tuesday, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.
Daniel Jolivet, 68, had his first taste of freedom this weekend after spending the last 33 years behind bars.
Peguis First Nation is suing former chief Glenn Hudson over allegations he failed to act in the best interest of the band and financially benefitted from breaches of duty — including claims that he enriched himself, his family and supporters.
The Saskatchewan NDP's pace in 2025 has been frenetic.