Teen who pleaded guilty in stabbing death of Hamilton student Devan Selvey sentenced to 7 years

There were tears and shouts of disbelief in Superior Court in Hamilton on Friday as family and friends of Devan Selvey learned the teenager who stabbed the 14-year-old behind their high school will serve just two more years behind bars.

"Two years?" a woman sobbed. "He killed a kid in cold blood, you gave him two years."

Justice Andrew Goodman sentenced the teen to seven years, four of which were to be served in custody. It's the maximum sentence for a youth convicted of second-degree murder, and what defence and Crown attorneys had been seeking. 

However, the judge also recognized 24 months of time served, which will see the teen spend two more years in a detention centre, followed by three years under supervision in the community.

Goodman said he wanted the family, and especially Devan's mother, Shari-Ann Selvey, to know he was aware of the "devastation" caused by his death.

"The murder in my view has a degree of callousness and bravado, which is disturbing," he said, while reading from his reasons for sentencing.

"Hopefully today's sentence can bring some degree of finality and closure for the Selvey family."

Outside court, Shari-Ann said she felt as though she might be sick, and declined to speak with reporters.

"I'm sorry, I just don't have strength today," she said, with tears running down her face.

Brian Allen, a friend of the family, spoke on their behalf.

"[We're] very distraught, very unhappy," he said. "It's like a slap in the face. A life is worth two years."

The offender was also 14 at the time of the stabbing, which happened outside Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School on Oct. 7, 2019.

Now 16, the student pleaded guilty in a surprise move in November. He can't be identified under a court-ordered publication ban. The teen did not visibly react as his sentence was read out.

2 years without Devan

Unlike adult sentencing, there's no rule in youth matters that credit be given for time served. Still, Goodman decided to deduct two years, where the teen had already been in custody.

Allen said that was tough for the family to swallow, adding they're "disgusted" with the system and would like to see changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

"I truly believe that him being in custody for two years should not being going toward what his sentence is," the family spokesperson said.

"We've had to go two years without Devan. His family had to endure this for two years," Allen added, gesturing at the courthouse.

Goodman also granted a joint request from the defence and Crown that the teen be enrolled in the intensive rehabilitative custody and supervision program.

Crown attorney Brett Moodie described it as a "unique and powerful" tool that's only available in very serious offences.

The sentencing comes nearly 2½ years after Devan was killed.

An agreed statement of facts, read in court when the accused pleaded guilty, said the teen stabbed Devan once in the right, upper back.

The murder weapon was a knife with a 15-centimetre blade, which tore through muscle and bone before slicing into Devan's lung, severing his pulmonary artery and causing rapid blood loss, court heard at the time.

Teens were 'strangers,' court heard

Before the stabbing, the two teens were "strangers" who did not know each other, according to the agreed-upon facts.

On the day of the stabbing, Devan and a friend saw a group of teens hanging out near an arena across the road from the high school, including someone he thought had taken his bike about a month earlier, court was told.

He texted his sister and the parents of a friend who arrived at the school shortly afterwards, and one of the adults confronted the teens, the facts of the case state.

When an argument broke out, the older brother of the offender used bear mace, sending everyone running from the area.

Devan chased after a group of teens, with his mother driving along side him, asking for him to climb inside, court heard.

As Devan argued with a female member of the group, the offender approached and heard yelling. The statement of facts says he believed his brother could be in trouble, so he drew the knife from his waistband and stabbed Devan from behind, just as his mother got out of her vehicle.

Goodman pointed to the nature of the fatal blow as one of the aggravating factors of the case, describing it as "the stabbing of a defenceless and vulnerable young man" for no "understandable reason other than turmoil in [the teen's] psyche … or some ill-conceived notion that his brother was in some danger."

The judge noted Devan was stabbed in the back, leaving him "entirely vulnerable." He also said the teen fled from the area without "regard or concern" for his schoolmate.

"He left Devan on the street, fatally wounded," said Goodman.

Following Devan's death, his mother said he had been bullied and the school had not done enough to protect him.

However, court later heard the two teens did not know each other.

Still, the stabbing sparked conversations around bullying in the city and across Canada.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) assembled a report on bullying that showed it was a problem across schools in the public board, and a "culture of fear" was preventing people from reporting incidents or taking action.

No more dances or 'I love you's'

Goodman read out portions of victim impact statements from Devan's friends and family, saying he was doing so to make sure the teen understood the impact of what he had done.

"Not only did you take such an important piece of our family puzzle — you took our sunshine away when skies were grey," said Karissa, his sister.

The statement from Shari-Ann mourned the fact she wouldn't be able to see him grow up and have a family of his own.

"I will never dance in the kitchen with Devan … never will I have hugs or 'I love you's' from Devan," it read in part.

The defence said the teen had  "thrived" behind bars, pointing to reports that described him as eager to take part in counselling.

The teen also addressed Devan's loved ones directly, saying he can never take back what he did and was ready to accept the consequences. 

"I wish we could both go back to our families, but I took that away from Devan," he said, adding he's made "good use" of his time in custody and will continue to do so "if not for me, then for the memory of Devan."

Allen said he doesn't believe the teen has the right to mention Devan's name.

"Devan was a caring kid. He loved the outdoors, he loved the trails, he loved the pets. This kid took his life away."