Manitoba Teenager Sentenced to Life for 2022 Killings
A Manitoba teenager was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for the 2022 murders of three people in Winnipeg.The judge highlighted the brutal nature of the crimes, noting the killings were sequential and unprovoked.
the victims were Marvin William Felix, 54, from the Berens River First Nation; Danielle Dawn Ballantyne, 36, a mother of four from Misipawistik Cree Nation; and Troy Baguley, 51, originally from Saskatchewan.
video evidence presented in court showed felix, who was in a wheelchair, being beaten by the youth while sleeping outside a Winnipeg hotel. His sister, marva George, travelled from Berens River for the sentencing and wore a hoodie bearing her brother’s image, which read: “Forever in our hearts.” She described her brother as an avid hunter and fisherman who enjoyed sharing game with people he met on the streets of Winnipeg. While satisfied with the sentencing, Ms. George emphasized the need for the Manitoba government to improve public safety.
Ballantyne, standing 5-feet-2-inches tall, was found with extensive head trauma in her apartment building. Baguley was beaten for seven minutes and died months after the attack.
The teenager, described as approximately six feet tall with acne, listened silently as the sentance was delivered. His defense lawyer, Laura Robinson, had argued for a sentence equivalent to a 10-year prison term.
Pre-sentencing reports detailed several mitigating factors, including the youth’s Indigenous heritage, diagnoses of attention deficit and cognitive disorders, and intoxication with vodka and Xanax at the time of the crimes. He had previously expressed regret for his actions during a July hearing.
The court ruled the teenager, who had already spent three years in jail awaiting trial, will be ineligible for parole for seven years.
