Man accused of killing 17-year-old on Surrey bus found guilty of manslaughter

A young Burnaby man originally charged with the second-degree murder of a 17-year-old boy on a Surrey bus two years ago has been found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Kaiden Mintenko, 21, was handed his conviction Thursday at the B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, and will be sentenced at a later date. 

Justice Terry Schultes told the court he had decided to downgrade the original charge because there was a reasonable doubt that Mintenko had the required intent necessary to be found guilty of second-degree murder. 

In rendering his decision, Schultes described in detail video evidence that shows the victim, a 17-year-old boy, standing at the front of the 503 bus at 9:21 p.m. on April 11, 2023, as it came to a stop in the 9900-block of King George Boulevard.

The victim's name is protected under a publication ban. 

In the video, Mintenko approaches the victim from behind and punches him in the head six times. The teen falls to the floor of the bus and is seen taking a defensive position with his arms out, yelling out for help.

Mintenko is heard saying, "Watch your back," as he pulls out a 25 centimetre-long blade, described by a witness to the court as something similar to a chef's knife, and stabs the teen once in the right side of his chest.

The teen starts bleeding profusely.

He was declared dead about one hour later at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. 

From start to finish, the assault and stabbing took a total of six seconds, according to Schultes. 

Mintenko departed the bus through the front exit doors immediately after. He was arrested and charged six days later. 

The court heard that Mintenko and a female friend boarded the bus at the same time as the victim. The victim and female were known to each other and the female had exhibited "hostile behaviour" toward the victim on a number of past occasions. 

The female exited the bus from the centre door as the assault began.  

In police interviews, Mintenko admitted to being intoxicated before assaulting and stabbing the teen, but said he never intended to kill him. 

He and some friends had been drinking in a Port Moody park before travelling to Surrey and getting on the bus. 

Second-degree murder in Canada generally covers any murder that is deliberate but not planned, and doesn't fall under any first-degree murder categories. Manslaughter is a homicide committed without intent to kill, although there may have been an intention to cause harm. 

Mintenko will be sentenced at a future date that has yet to be determined.