Family, supporters of 3 killed in 2022 Point Douglas attacks face teen killer in court
'What you took from us can never be replaced,' says sister of Danielle Dawn Ballantyne, 36
WARNING: This story contains graphic details.
The sister of a woman beaten to death at random nearly three years ago faced one of her sibling's killers in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday, where a judge is hearing arguments on whether to sentence the now 18-year-old as an adult.
Danielle Dawn Ballantyne, 36, was one of three people killed in a series of early morning attacks on Aug. 22, 2022. Two men — Marvin William Felix, a 54-year-old amputee who used a wheelchair, and Troy Baguley, 51 — were critically injured that morning and later died in hospital.
Two teens, both 15 at the time of the killings, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the deaths of Ballantyne and Felix. Both were also charged with manslaughter in Baguley's death, but that charge was stayed in January for one of the teens.
Manitoba Court of King's Bench Justice Gerald Chartier is now hearing arguments on whether the other person convicted, now 18, should be sentenced as an adult, in sentencing hearings that began on Monday.
Kristy Ballantyne, Danielle's sister, said the 18-year-old didn't just take her sister's life — he also tore apart their family.
"What you took from us can never be replaced," she said in a victim impact statement she read aloud in court Wednesday. "You stole a piece of every single person who loved her."
The grief of her sister's violent death led her to suffer a heart attack, Kristy said.
"My body couldn't carry the weight of what you did."
While her sister is gone, Kristy said the teen can never take away her family's love for Danielle.
She broke down in tears at points while reading her impact statement, and at other times turned to face the teen, who sat in the prisoner's box with his head held down for the most part, looking up briefly to glance at Kristy a few times.
"I think he needed to see the severity of my emotions, and how it impacted my life, and I wanted to speak to him, knowing that I am now the voice for my sister," she told CBC News outside the courthouse.
Prosecutors have recommended both teens receive adult sentences, which would mean automatic life sentences on the second-degree murder charges. The maximum youth sentence for second-degree murder is seven years — up to four years in custody, with up to another three years of probation.
Kristy said she wants to see the teen receive an adult sentence.
"I think it's important for … the public, because it's a heinous crime, and he has a continuous record of crime," she said.
In court, she asked the judge to remember that "behind this case are real families living with the consequences of someone else's choices."
"Please honour my sister, and the other victims' families, by delivering a sentence that reflects the deep and lasting harm caused by their passing."
'Who would do this to him?'
Victim impact statements written by Felix's two sisters remembered him as a caring and peaceful person who liked to teach people how to bake, and who enjoyed making bannock to share with others, including at homeless shelters near where he was killed.
"Marvin only had one leg. Who would do this to him?" Marva George wrote in her victim impact statement.
Victim impact statements from staff members of Winnipeg's Turning Leaf Support Services — a non-profit that works with vulnerable people — were also read aloud to remember Baguley.
He struggled with mental health challenges but desperately craved independence, and Turning Leaf staff helped him move to Winnipeg from Saskatchewan and live on his own in 2021, according to Meaghan Turko, Baguley's clinical case manager.
Staff acted as Baguley's chosen family in Winnipeg, and he was beginning to reconnect with his Indigenous heritage, she said. But Baguley "never got to meet the goals he set for himself," said Turko, adding staff were devastated by his death.
"I do take a small comfort in knowing that ... for a year and a half, he did get to live life on his terms and make his own choices," she said.
Turko also said Baguley was once a "hurt young man who lashed out and caused pain to others," but found healing and reclaimed his life.
"I wish the offenders the same journey. It is not an easy journey that they will have to take, but healing is possible," she said.
The victim impact statements were presented as the Crown wrapped up its sentencing arguments.
Prosecutor Jodi Koffman told the court that the Crown must prove the teen was morally responsible for the killings, and that a seven-year youth sentence is not enough to hold him accountable or to protect society.
The teen has been a consistent physical threat to others, in and out of custody, she said, with offences that began before he turned 12 years old and continued to shortly before his 18th birthday. There was a change in his behaviour at that point that Koffman called "suspicious" and suggested may be manipulative.
Behaviour 'cries out' for adult sentence: Crown
While an adult sentenced for second-degree murder is ineligible for parole for 10 years, someone who receives an adult sentence for an offence committed when they were 14 or 15 years old is eligible for parole in five to seven years.
The Crown is seeking seven years of parole ineligibility for the teen, with Koffman saying his behaviour is not normal for someone his age and "cries out" for an adult sentence.
"This is someone who knows right from wrong," she said. "He will need lifelong support and resources, and only an adult sentence can achieve this."
Laura Robinson, the lawyer defending the 18-year-old, said he accepted responsibility for the killings by pleading guilty.
She argued the Crown has failed to prove her client demonstrated the moral capacity of an adult in the killings.
Court heard Tuesday that the 18-year-old was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and mild intellectual disability.
Robinson also said the seriousness of the teen's offences, and the moral outrage surrounding them, should not "outweigh the analysis that needs to be done in this case."
She is expected to wrap up her arguments in court on Thursday.
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With files from Josh Crabb