Montreal teen murder victim tearfully remembered as 'beautiful soul'

Jannai Dopwell-Bailey was a "young beautiful soul" who loved his mother and whose mother loved him.

That's what Charla Dopwell said after her 16-year-old son's funeral on Friday in Montreal's west end, a light flurry of snow swirling down around her and her loved ones as they clutched each other with tears in their eyes outside St. Paul's Anglican Church.

"Stick to your dreams, keep out of trouble. Stick to your dreams. Do that for Jannai," said Charla Dopwell.

"I need justice for my son. He didn't deserve it. He's just 16 years old.  It's very hard, hard, hard."

Members of Jannai's family invited media to attend the somber funeral, where family and friends shared memories of the young boy — his humour, his love and his passion.

Many wore sweatshirts with Jannai's smiling face printed on them, and several seized the opportunity to speak to reporters about his life and his untimely death.

Jannai was a student at the Mile End high school program in Côte-des-Neiges, located in the basement of another school, Coronation Elementary.

According to police, there was a fight outside involving a group of teens on Oct. 18.

Police say Jannai was stabbed in the upper body, went into the school for help and was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he later died.

Soon after the murder, videos posted to Instagram and Snapchat showed people mocking Jannai's death. In one, there are three people in ski masks holding a knife. 

Police arrested a minor in connection with the death about four days after the stabbing. His identity is not being released due to his age. 

About a month later, Thomas Trudel, also 16, was shot and killed in the Saint-Michel neighbourhood, sparking outcry from municipal and provincial politicians who have since been working to reassure Montrealers while pushing federal authorities to tighten gun laws.

Jannai's older brother, Tyrese Dopwell-Bailey, said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has been engaged in the death of Trudel, who was white, while Jannai's family is feeling ignored.

On Tuesday, Plante, accompanied by Montreal police Chief Sylvain Caron and elected officials from the Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension borough, held a news conference outside of a school near where Trudel was killed.