Winnipeg youth gets 3-year sentence for 'relentless, persistent, and vicious' fatal stabbing

A Manitoba judge has sentenced a teen with a history of behavioural issues to three years in custody, focusing on rehabilitation, after he fatally stabbed a man outside a Winnipeg strip club. 

The teen, who was 16 years old at the time of the offence, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in May for the death of Peter Filip. He was given an intensive rehabilitation custody and supervision order, which involves a period of custody followed by conditional supervision in the community, said Provincial Court of Manitoba Judge Victoria Cornick in a written court decision in late December. 

The teen, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was involved in a "relentless, persistent, and vicious" attack on the 27-year-old man found injured on Arlington Street near Logan Avenue around 2 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2023, Cornick wrote. 

The court document said the now 17-year-old met with six other teens at the CanadInns hotel on William Avenue before the group was caught on video surveillance with sound near the Lipstixx bar and vendor. 

The surveillance showed Filip pull up to the bar on his bicycle where he was approached by five of the boys who participated in kicking and striking him with a sawed-off rifle as he repeatedly struggled to run away, the decision said. 

The 17-year-old took out a knife and stabbed Filip in the heart before the group sped off toward the bar to meet up with the two other teens who stayed back. Some of the group members were seen high fiving each other on camera, the decision said. 

'Wrong place at the wrong time'

Passerbys stopped to call 911 and Filip was rushed to a hospital, but died of his injuries. Apart from his stab wound, he had a laceration to the back of his head, a broken nose and multiple abrasions to his face and body, the court document said. 

"The offence was senseless and cowardly. It amounts to every law-abiding citizen's worst nightmare — to be minding your own business only to be set upon by individuals with nothing better to do other than to inflict fear and injury," Cornick said. 

The victim's mother said she found out about her son's death on the same day as her brother-in-law's funeral, which left her feeling stunned and in disbelief, the decision said. 

"Mr. Filip lost his life for no reason other than he was at the wrong place at the wrong time," Cornick said. 

His family "will carry this loss and sadness for the rest of their lives."

More than a month after the killing, the teen surrendered himself to the Winnipeg Police Service in response to a warrant issued for his arrest and admitted to the stabbing, the decision said. 

Cornick said the youth was doing "relatively well" living with a foster family in Selkirk, Man., with his biological brother. The youth was referred to the Selkirk Team for At-Risk Teens due to behavioural concerns in the community and an intervention plan was "barely underway" when he killed Filip.

The teen has been diagnosed with substance abuse disorder, depression, intermittent explosive disorder, attachment disorder and having a low IQ. He experienced childhood abuse, parental neglect and was taken into the care of Child and Family Services, Cornick wrote, adding that he joined a gang before he was arrested. 

In-custody rehabilitative efforts

When dealing with a young person in the criminal justice system, there must be emphasis on rehabilitation, reintegration into the community and addressing the underlying issues of their behaviour, while protecting the public by holding the youth accountable for their criminal offence, Cornick said. 

Imposing an intensive rehabilitation and supervision order makes treatment and other therapeutic programs mandatory as part of the sentence being served, the decision said. The order requires an offender to have committed a serious offence, have a mental illness or disorder and reasonable grounds to believe a treatment plan will mitigate the risk of the youth reoffending.

As a result, the teen must attend therapy to process the offence and its impact on the victim's family, continue his schooling in custody and eventually transition into a community-based treatment plan, Cornick said. 

The youth wants to reconnect with family members in Crane River First Nation and Waywayseecappo First Nation, as it's been a decade since he's participated in any cultural events related to his Indigeneity such as hunting, fishing, pow wows or sweats and sun lodges. 

He is also subject to a two-year weapons prohibition with an exception of hunting and other cultural practices while supervised. 

Cornick did not reduce his sentence based on his time previously spent in custody due to behavioural issues reported at the Manitoba Youth Centre.