Teen who stabbed student to death in Hamilton, Ont. to be sentenced

A flag flies at half mast ahead of a candlelight vigil for murdered 14-year-old Devan Selvey, at his high school, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, in Hamilton, Ont., Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Cole Burston

A sentencing date is expected to be set today for a 16-year-old boy who stabbed another teenager to death outside a Hamilton high school in 2019.

The accused, who cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last month in the stabbing death of 15-year-old Devan Selvey, who was killed outside Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in Hamilton on Oct. 7, 2019.

According to an agreed statement of facts submitted to the court, the victim and accused, who was 14 at the time, attended the same high school but did not know each other prior to the deadly attack, which was largely captured on CCTV cameras on or near school grounds.

According to the court document, the dispute initially began around lunchtime outside the high school when Selvey spotted one of the people he believed to be responsible for the theft of his bike one month earlier.

On the day of the stabbing, the document says, Selvey thought he saw one of the perpetrators hanging out in a group in the smoking area of a nearby arena.

Selvey's mom and a friend's mother were alerted to the situation and made their way to the school in Shari-Ann Selvey's SUV at around 12:50 p.m.

The father of one of Selvey's friends also came to the school and got involved in the dispute, ultimately confronting the group, which included the 18-year-old brother of the accused. Police said they do not believe that the accused or his brother were involved in the theft or were even aware that it had occurred.

The teens all denied robbing Selvey of his bike and the court document indicates that after the group was confronted, the brother of the accused deployed a can of bear mace, which caused everyone to disperse, including the friend's father, who rushed off to put water on his eyes.

Selvey then began walking along Dunsmure Road to follow some members of the group, including the brother of the accused. Selvey's mother quickly caught up with her son in her SUV and on two separate occasions attempted to convince him to get into her car. At one point Selvey did stop and move toward the vehicle, but did not get inside and continued to chase after the other teens, the statement of facts read.

Devan Selvey, 14, is pictured in this undated photo. (submitted)

While this was taking place, the accused, who was walking back to school from a convenience store nearby, spoke to his brother on the phone.

The accused was then spotted on CCTV cameras pulling a knife out of the waistband of his pants and sprinting toward the school before heading in the direction of his brother and Selvey.

The court document states that the accused was in such a rush to get to his brother that he came out of his shoes and continued on without stopping to pick them up.

According to the agreed statement of facts, when he caught up with the others, the accused heard yelling and said he believed his brother was in "danger."

He approached Selvey from behind, carrying a knife in one hand and a cellphone in the other.

Selvey, who was standing in the roadway, did not see or hear the accused coming when he was stabbed once in the upper right back.

The knife, according to the pathologist who conducted the autopsy, entered Selvey's lung and severed his pulmonary artery.

Selvey's mother pulled up to the scene and got out of her car just as her son was being stabbed.

After the stabbing, Selvey ran past his mother and continued on for about 30 metres before collapsing to the ground. He was rushed to hospital but was later pronounced dead.

The 14-year-old perpetrator fled the scene along with his brother but was apprehended after a bus driver witnessed the stabbing and followed the accused for several blocks. He and his brother were arrested by police in a yard not far from where the stabbing occurred.

The weapon used by the accused, which was described in the court document as a 27-centimetre knife with a 15-centimetre blade, was found in the flower bed of a nearby home.

Police said a purple knife was found in Selvey's possession following the incident but he was not holding it when he was stabbed.