INDEPTH: CRIME
Teen violence timeline
CBC News Online | February 17, 2006
Nov. 14, 1997 - Reena Virk, 14, is beaten and drowned near Victoria, B.C. Warren Glowatski, 16 at the time, is convicted of second-degree murder in 1999. Kelly Ellard, who was 15, will be tried for second-degree murder in her third trial in February 2005. Six teenage girls were convicted of assault-related charges in connection with the beating. This case focused national attention on the issue of teen violence in Canada.
Oct. 31, 1998 - Clayton McGloan, 17, dies after being beaten and stabbed at a Halloween party in Calgary. Two brothers, aged 15 and 17 at the time, were later convicted. The elder brother, Roberto Guardado, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no parole for at least seven years. Nelson Guardado was convicted of manslaughter.
April 28, 1999 - A 14-year-old boy opens fire with a .22-calibre rifle inside W.R. Myers High School in Taber, Alta. Student Jason Lang, 17, is killed. Another student, Shane Christmas, 17, is wounded, but recovers from his injuries. The shooting takes place a week after the Columbine high school massacre, in which two boys killed 12 students and a teacher in Littleton, Colo., before killing themselves.
June 29, 1999 - Jonathan Wamback, 15, spends three months in a coma after being beaten by three youths in a Newmarket, Ont., park. He receives permanent brain damage. One 16-year-old and a 17-year-old are convicted of aggravated assault. A 17-year-old youth is charged with aggravated assault, but later acquitted.
Nov. 14, 1999 - Dmitri (Matti) Baranovski, 15, is kicked and beaten after he and his friends are confronted by a group of teenagers who want cigarettes and money. He dies in hospital the next day. In July 2003, Meir Mariani, 20, and William Lee Cochrane, 20, are convicted of manslaughter. Each receives a 10-year sentence.
July 12, 2000 - A petition on youth violence receives its 900,000th signature, from Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino. The petition calls for mandatory counselling and tougher sentences for violent young offenders. It was initiated by Joe and Lozanne Wamback, the parents of Jonathan Wamback.
Nov. 10, 2000 - Dawn-Marie Wesley, 14, of Mission, B.C., hangs herself with her dog's leash in her bedroom. She leaves a suicide note naming three girls at her school she said were "killing her" because of their bullying.
March 26, 2002 - Landmark bullying case results in conviction. This case marks the first time school girls have been brought into court after a suicide to face charges. An Abbotsford, B.C., girl who bullied a classmate into committing suicide is found guilty of criminal harassment and uttering threats. A second accused is found not guilty.
April 1, 2003 - The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) replaces the Young Offenders Act. It aims to emphasize the rehabilitation and re-entry of a young offender into society.
Nov. 25, 2003 - "Johnathan," is found with 71 cuts to his body in a basement crawlspace of his parents' east-end home in Toronto. Three teens, including Johnathan's brother, are arrested in the stabbing death.
Nov. 28, 2003 - Jomar Lanot, a 17-year-old immigrant from the Philippines, is walking with friends after a basketball game near a school in East Vancouver when they are chased by a group of Indo-Canadian youths. He is beaten and later dies in hospital.
Jan. 4, 2004 - An 18-year-old is beaten while using Ottawa transit after being approached by eight young men demanding cigarettes and money. Two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old were each charged with one count of robbery and one count of intimidation. A 15-year-old is charged with one count of robbery, one count of intimidation and four counts of breach of recognizance.
Jan. 14, 2004 - It's reported that seven swarmings and attacks took place on buses over the past two months in Ottawa.
July 28, 2004 - Statistics Canada reports that:
- The crime rate among young people aged 12 to 17, as measured by the total number accused by police, increased five per cent last year. It was the third gain in the last four years.
- Violent crime among youth was up three per cent – the third increase in four years. Increases were reported in the rate of youths accused of homicide, attempted murder and assault. Declines were reported for sexual assault and robbery.
- The youth property crime rate increased four per cent in 2003. This was driven by a seven per cent increase in the rate of break-ins and a six per cent increase in the rate of thefts under $5,000. The rate of young people accused of motor vehicle theft fell seven per cent.
Sept. 27, 2004 - A 14-year-old girl is savagely beaten by two fellow female students at a school in Sudbury, Ont. About 30 bystanders do nothing, some cheer.
Sept. 29, 2004 - Police figures on organized crime and street gangs in 2003 is released. One in every seven homicides in 2003 involved organized crime or street gangs. Most gang-related homicides involved young adults. Of those gang-related homicides that were solved by police, 60 per cent of accused persons and 49 per cent of all victims were between 18 and 24 years old.
Nov. 28, 2004 - Tamara Carter, 11, and an unnamed 24-year-old man are shot on a Toronto Transit Commission bus, after the man argues with three young males. The shootings remain unsolved.
Dec. 3, 2004 - Andrew Stewart, 16, a Toronto high school student and basketball star is killed after being swarmed by 10 to 15 males and stabbed to death. Police charge a 17-year-old with first-degree murder. The suspect cannot be named under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Dec. 11, 2004 - Tanner Hopkins, 18, dies in hospital after being fatally stabbed in the driveway of his North Toronto home. He was trying to prevent a group of people from gate crashing his younger brother's party. A 16-year-old is charged with second-degree murder for his death.
Dec. 1, 2005 - Statistics Canada reports that the number of young people jailed for crimes has fallen significantly since the introduction of the Youth Criminal Justice Act in 2003.
Dec. 15, 2005 - Two teenage sisters are found guilty of first-degree murder in the drowning death of their mother. The teens were 15 and 16 in January 2003, when they drowned their mother in a bathtub. Their names and that of their mother are not released.
Dec. 28, 2005 - A 17-year-old is charged with second-degree murder in the Christmas Day killing of a taxi driver in Dartmouth, N.S.
Jan. 5, 2006 - A 17-year-old is charged with weapons and drug offences after his mother turns in a loaded AK-47 rifle she found on his bed.
Jan. 11, 2006 - A Nova Scotia teen receives an adult sentence of four and a half years in prison for his role in the death of a Halifax woman in October 2004. Archibald Billard, 16 at the time, was high on marijuana and fleeing police in a stolen car when he crashed into Theresa McEvoy's car.
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Stoned and fleeing, teen gets 4½ years for fatal crash (Jan. 11, 2006)
Toronto teen arrested after mom turns in assault rifle (Jan. 5, 2006)
Teen charged in N.S. cab driver's death (Dec. 28, 2005)
Teen sisters guilty of drowning mother (Dec. 15, 2005)
Number of jailed youth falls under new law: StatsCan (Dec. 1, 2005)
Don't retaliate, police warn Andrew's friends - Dec. 7, 2004
No parole for Virk's killer - Nov. 19, 2004
Violent street crime a priority for police - Oct 7, 2004
Youth fights getting more violent: police - May 13, 2004
Charges laid in Halloween swarming - Jan. 20, 2004
Swarmings need more than police: expert - Jan. 8, 2004
Two views of 'swarming' in Ottawa's west end - Oct. 14, 2003
Police arrest two swarming suspects - June 19, 2002
Police appeal for help in swarming case - June 14, 2002
Video games more violent than ratings indicate: Harvard study - July 31, 2001
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