[Praxius]

Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

Trial starts for Medicine Hat girl accused of killing family

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — A first-degree murder trial begins today for a 13-year-old girl accused of slaughtering her parents and little brother in a case that has stunned this unassuming southern Alberta city. The killings have drawn international attention to Medicine Hat, where rumours abound of what lay below the surface — a forbidden relationship and out-of-control preteen rebellion — all entwined in the Goth subculture. The accused was just 12 years old and in Grade 7 when her family members were found dead in their home in April 2006. Her brother was only eight. He was buried with his parents in Sudbury, Ont., where the family lived before moving to Alberta in the late 1990s. The girl, who cannot be identified under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Her co-accused and boyfriend at the time of the incident, 24-year-old Jeremy Steinke, faces the same murder charges. He will be tried later as an adult and so faces a far stiffer possible penalty. The defence strategy for the girl remains largely unknown. The police have been tight-lipped about the case from the outset, even refusing to disclose how her three family members died. Their bodies were discovered on a Sunday afternoon after a young neighbourhood boy went to call on his eight-year-old friend. Through the window, he saw what he believed to be a body and ran to tell his mother, who called police. The next day, Steinke and the girl were arrested in Leader, Sask., about two hours east of Medicine Hat. They’ve been in custody since then. Two others, 19-year-old Kacy Lancaster and a 16-year-old girl, have been charged with accessory to murder for allegedly trying to help cover up the crime. Both cases are wending their way through the legal system. The fact that Steinke was more than a decade older than his co-accused is likely to be a factor in the trial. The two apparently met at a punk rock dance a short time before the killings. Friends said Steinke brushed off concerns about the age gap and said no one would stop him from seeing the girl. Around that time, the Roman Catholic schoolgirl abandoned her clean-cut look for a darker, Goth style featuring black clothes and heavy eyeliner and makeup. Steinke told friends that he was a 300-year-old werewolf who liked the taste of blood. The two also left an Internet trail, posting pictures and messages on websites such as VampireFreaks.com. The Youth Criminal Justice Act allows the prosecution to seek an adult sentence as long as the offender is 14 or older. In this case, since the accused was only 12 at the time of the killings, she cannot be given an adult sentence if convicted. The maximum penalty she could receive for first-degree murder is 10 years, with no more than six spent in custody. As an adult, Steinke faces a life sentence and a minimum of 25 years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole. A date for his trial hasn’t yet been set, but it’s not expected to begin before next year. In the meantime, his Calgary-based lawyer will be watching the case of his co-accused very closely — especially if Steinke is called to testify. "If he is, I certainly have a vested interest in what he’s going to say," said Alain Hepner. "If he’s called as a witness, he has to get in the witness stand and we’ll see what happens." Sanjeev Anand, a criminal law expert at the University of Alberta, says the case is unique for Canada. "I don’t remember in recent history, a person that young being charged with multiple murders." The girl’s trial is scheduled for five weeks. It will be a rare case of a juvenile facing a jury trial in Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench, rather than in youth court. Her Calgary-based lawyer, Tim Foster, opted to change her election from trial by judge alone earlier this year.

Friggin Goth Freaks and their double-age-older influence boyfriends....

oh and I doubt we'll get anymore information that this, because of this in the CBC link:

The first week of the teen's trial has been set aside for a voir dire, legal proceedings that examine the admissibility of evidence. Defence lawyer Tim Foster has applied to keep the public and the media out of the courtroom during this process. He has refused any interviews on the matter. Fred Kozak, a media lawyer hired by the CBC to argue against that exclusion in court on Monday, said it was the first time that he has heard of an application to ban the public and the media from such proceedings. "Our argument will be that the judicial system, including voir dires, have to be open and transparent and that publication bans have proven to be an effective mechanism that balance the fair trial rights of the accused with freedom of expression." The teenage girl, who cannot be identified under terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been in custody at the Calgary Young Offender Centre for more than a year.

What BS..... I'm sorry, but if someone goes out and slaughters their family and considdering the information already provided... this should be a public issue..... There are friends and family close to this incident who have a right to know what happened.

And I'm sorry, but I don't care if you're 12, 5 or 38..... if you "Slaughter" someone... you know wtf you are doing, and in this case in paticular, I seriously don't believe the child protection act should apply.

What do you think? With the information already provided.... do you feel she should be tried as an adult and this made public, or should this little princess be kept private and treated as a victim in this crime, so she can get all the loving help she can get? :rolleyes: