The family of a 15-year-old stabbed in 2020 in Laval is suing the parents of the teenager who killed him for more than $2.4 million, blaming them for not having done enough to prevent the tragedy.
“At the time of the events, enough behavioral clues from the aggressor should have challenged the [parents] so that they take the appropriate means to avoid the disaster that has occurred”, supports the family of the victim in a lawsuit filed at the Laval courthouse on March 30.
The parents and three brothers of the victim, who cannot be identified due to a publication ban, are claiming $2,450,000 for damages suffered, loss of affection and pain, among other things.
This legal procedure was undertaken because the parents of the offender neglected their “parental authority” and the “supervision” of their son, even going so far as to “trivialize his behavior”, we read in the document.
Fatal rendezvous
The young assailant, who was 16 years old at the time of the crime, had made an appointment with the victim in a park in Laval, on 1er January 2020, “to settle a conflict that had lasted for about ten days”, according to the lawsuit.
The assailant had taken care to bring two steak knives, it reads.
“A fight ensued and ultimately the deceased was stabbed by the attacker, resulting in his death,” it says.
Initially charged with premeditated murder, he was eventually found guilty of manslaughter, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Last October, he was sentenced to three years in prison, the maximum sentence that can be imposed on a minor.
Trivialization
According to the lawsuit, the parents “trivialize the acts committed by the aggressor”.
Their child had indeed sent “threatening” and “violent” text messages to the deceased, we learned during his criminal trial. Within days, he had invited the victim and his brother to fight 13 times.
“The perpetrator’s parents were negligent in failing to sufficiently supervise or have a trained eye on the chat sites the perpetrator used to write prior to the commission of the offence,” writes the family of the victim.
She goes on to allege that “throughout the legal process, the abuser’s parents minimized the abuser’s responsibility and concealed events that occurred with the abuser which were later demonstrated to the Court.”
For example, the defendant’s mother, finding that he missed his friends, drove him to an acquaintance when this went against his conditions of release, according to the prosecution.
The prosecutor’s lawyer had not answered the questions of the Log SATURDAY.
Highlight: In September 2022, the parents of the victim sent a formal notice to the parents of the accused claiming $1 million. The parents of the assailant then “responded by denying responsibility for the damages claimed”.