‘Where did they find it?' GTA mom ‘unsettled' after photo of her children used in Texas floods GoFundMe campaign
Julie Cole, co-founder of Mabel's Labels Inc., which makes name labels for kids clothing, was informed by a colleague on Tuesday that someone was using her children's photo on the crowdfunding platform.
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Global News
15 hours ago
- Global News
Man sentenced to life for cocaine-induced stabbing death of St. Albert teen
WARNING: The details of this story may be disturbing to some readers. On Thursday, Kaj Alexander Randall pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for a stabbing that killed a 17-year-old girl and injured a 13-year-old girl in July 2024. The brutal attack happened in the girl's home in St. Albert last summer with a father figure they trusted. Jaeden Chaisson was stabbed to death on July 18, 2024 in a townhouse in the Riverside area of the city directly north of Edmonton. Due to the age of the victims, there was a publication ban protecting the identity of the 13-year-old girl. But on Thursday in court, now-14-year-old Brooklyn Janes fought to remove the ban on her identity. This follows the decision by the fatal stabbing victim's mother and Brooklyn's aunt, Nicole Chaisson, to remove the publication ban from her daughter's name earlier in the court case. Story continues below advertisement 'We weren't allowed to talk about [Jaeden], we were not allowed to show her face, but I want people to know what a beautiful person she was, the smile that she showed us all the time, this is who she was,' said Chaisson. 'This is what she needs to be remembered for, not for how she left us. So, I just want to honour the better parts of her story as opposed to the horrific ending that she had.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This is what she needs to be remembered for, not for how she left us. So, I just want to honour the better parts of her story as opposed to the horrific ending that she had." '[Brooklyn] hasn't had that inside of her for over a year now, so for her to make that decision for herself to come back, even just a little bit, it means a lot to us, gives us a little more hope for her.' According to an agreed statement of facts, before the day of the attack, Randall had been a loving spouse to Kayla Chaisson and a loving father figure to Brooklyn Janes. He had never been aggressive or violent towards either of the teens. Randall, his common-law partner, Kayla Chaisson and her 13-year-old daughter Brooklyn had all lived together as a family for three years, and 17-year-old Jaeden moved in with her aunt and cousin a few weeks before the attack. View image in full screen Jaeden Chaisson, 17. Credit / GoFundMe On July 18th, 2024, 28-year-old Randall got off work and went to Kayla's work, where she was on shift, and had a beer while visiting with her. The agreed statement of facts said she didn't notice anything unusual about his behaviour or mood. Story continues below advertisement After that, he left her workplace, bought some cocaine and returned to the home, while Kayla was still at work. They had a 10-minute phone call about an hour and a half later, during which Kayla also talked to her daughter and described both her partner and child as happy. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy After that, things took a terrible turn. WARNING: Graphic details ahead Randall went into their ensuite bathroom on the top floor of the three-story home and snorted some of the cocaine he'd bought around 10 p.m. He then called Kayla again, but this time she noted his voice was unusually monotone and he sounded 'off' enough that she wrapped up work and left to go home. About five minutes later, Randall, armed with a kitchen knife, was down on the home's middle floor living area. He began stabbing Jaeden repeatedly in the head, neck, chest, and arms as she screamed for him to stop. Jaeden was stabbed a total of 21 times. Brooklyn was in her bedroom upstairs talking to a friend on the phone when she overheard Jaeden screaming. She hung up. She didn't know what was happening downstairs but could hear her cousin in pain. Brooklyn went to her bedroom door and tried to hold it shut, but Randall forced his way in. Story continues below advertisement He started to violently attacking the 13-year-old: stabbing, punching, kicking, and throwing her. She sustained at least 12 stab wounds. 1:52 Heartbroken mother remembers daughter fatally stabbed in St. Albert He briefly left the room, during which time Brooklyn crawled under her bed and tried to call 911, but Randall returned too quickly. He flipped the mattress, found the girl, and began violently assaulting the girl again. The girl described her mom's partner as 'looking crazy, breathing heavily, growling, and having eyes that were huge.' The statement of facts said he didn't say anything during the attack. At some point during the assault, his knife broke into pieces. Brooklyn then pretended to be dead, and Randall left the home and drove away. The attacks on both girls lasted about five minutes from start to finish. Story continues below advertisement As soon as she could no longer hear her attacker in the house, Brooklyn went downstairs to find Jaeden laying on the floor, severely injured but still alive. Shortly after, a friend Jaeden had invited over arrived, saw the girls covered in blood and severely injured, and called police. RCMP arrived to find Jaeden collapsed on the front lawn with deep stab wounds on her body. The officers jumped in to apply tourniquets and pressure on her wounds to stop the bleeding while waiting for paramedics to arrive. Both girls were taken to the Stollery Children's Hospital, but Jaeden's injuries were too severe and she had lost a lot of blood. She went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance. The 17-year-old suffered 14 more minor cuts, lacerations and stab wounds to her hands and arms, and seven more major stab wounds: three on the right of her neck, two on her shoulder, one hear her right clavicle, and one to the back of her head. One of the wounds damaged her carotid artery, which led to a great deal of blood loss and deprived her brain of oxygen. Brooklyn's physical injuries to her head, neck, shoulders and thorax were less severe and she was discharged from the hospital the next day. Despite several surgeries and procedures to keep Jaeden alive, she was taken off life support two days after the attack and died in hospital on July 20, 2024. Story continues below advertisement Her cause of death was multiple sharp force stabbing injuries. 1:07 Man facing murder charge after one of two St. Albert teen stabbing victims dies After leaving the scene of the attack, Randall got into his car and drove away erratically, glancing off another nearby building as he went down the alley. He sent a text to his partner, saying he loved her. As he drove down Ray Gibbon Drive out of St. Albert towards Edmonton, he threw his phone out the window into the ditch. It was found by police the next day. Randall went to his mom's home in Edmonton. The next day, she saw the arrest warrant for her son in the news and questioned him, to which he said, 'I think something is wrong with me.' RCMP found him there on the day Jaeden died and arrested him without incident. Story continues below advertisement A family grieving, but still tight-knit In court on Thursday, Brooklyn stood and said she looked up to Jaeden as a sister. Nicole Chaisson, Jaeden's mom and Brooklyn's aunt, said the two teens would FaceTime every morning as they got ready for school. Brooklyn would spend weekends at her house, and Jaeden would go to Kayla's. 'We're a very, very close family,' Nicole said. 'It's not like we're all doing our own thing. 'We all do it all together, the girls were just the next generation of the sisters doing it all together again. And you can definitely see that part — it's left a big hole in Brooklyn.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We all do it all together, the girls were just the next generation of the sisters doing it all together again. And you can definitely see that part — it's left a big hole in Brooklyn." Nicole said she and her sister, Kayla, have remained close in spite of the horror their family has endured. 'She was just as much a victim in this as anybody else. I love my sister very much,' said Nicole. Randall pleaded guilty and waived his right to a trial. The defence said Randall was experiencing drug-induced psychosis when attacked the teens, and added he had no motive for the crime. Through tears, Randall stood and told the courtroom, 'I'm sorry for all the pain this has caused, I didn't want any of this.' Story continues below advertisement In the courtroom, Justice Cheryl Arcand-Kootenauy sentenced Randall to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years. He also has a concurrent sentence of seven years for the attack on Brooklyn.
Global News
2 days ago
- Global News
2 years after man fatally stabbed on Granville Strip, police launch new appeal
Two years after a father of five was stabbed to death on the Granville Strip, Vancouver police are renewing their appeal for tips to find his killer. Surrey resident Jose Kaze, 32, was fatally stabbed around 3:15 a.m. on Aug. 4, 2023, on Granville Street between Smithe and Nelson streets. Police say they think there are people who know more about the killing who have yet to come forward. 1:59 Police investigating after fatal stabbing on Granville Street 'We know the Granville Mall remains busy just after 3 a.m. on weekends, and someone would have seen what happened,' Vancouver police Const. Jason Doucette said. Story continues below advertisement 'If you have any information about this homicide, please don't assume someone else has already told us. Call us and let us determine if it's important.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy A GoFundMe campaign for Kaze describes him as a 'devoted father' and a hardworking man 'who lost his life in a senseless act of violence.' 'This loving father leaves behind five beautiful young children, all of whom he cherished deeply,' the campaign states. Anyone with information is urged to contact Vancouver police at 604-717-2500.
Toronto Sun
7 days ago
- Toronto Sun
MANDEL: Eight swarming girls, not one sentenced to further jail time in slaying of Ken Lee
With the final teen sentenced, all received different periods of probation for the heinous 2022 killing of a homeless man Get the latest from Michele Mandel straight to your inbox Ken Lee, centre, seen here with his family, was stabbed to death during a swarming in downtown Toronto on Dec. 18, 2022. Photo by Handout / GoFundMe Rowdy, drunk and high, the wild pack of troubled young girls met up at Yorkdale before hopping on the subway to head downtown. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account By the end of the night, after what a judge would call 'brazen, feral and immature' attacks on other commuters, being thrown out of TTC stations, and shoplifting, the vicious girls savagely swarmed a defenceless homeless man across from Union Station, leaving him with a fatal stab wound to the heart and 19 injuries from blunt-force trauma. And for that, not one would be sentenced to more time in custody than what they had already spent before being released on bail. It was around midnight – five days before Christmas 2022 – when Kenneth Lee, 59, arrived at the narrow parkette at the corner of Front and York Sts. with his partner Erika Tong, who was staying at the nearby shelter in the Strathcona Hotel. When he left her alone for a few minutes, the teens harassed Tong and stole her bottle of booze. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. When Lee returned, he told the girls to leave her alone. They pounced on him seconds later – three minutes and 20 seconds of senseless mob violence that unfolded in three waves that killed the man and shocked the city. None of these girls, aged 13 to 16 at the time, can be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. All were arrested for second-degree murder, seven would plead guilty to lesser charges, and the eighth would be acquitted of murder at her judge-alone trial and convicted instead of manslaughter. All spent time in custody before sentencing – but none would get further jail time after both Ontario Court Justice David Rose and Superior Court Justice Philip Campbell found their rights were violated by unwarranted strip searches while in youth detention. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Six of the girls had the gall to argue that their charges should be thrown out because of the Charter violations – which both judges rejected, saying a sentence reduction was the more appropriate remedy. These teens, though, were never going to be locked up for as long as some in the outraged public would demand. The YCJA requires judges to recognize the diminished moral culpability of kids under 18 to reflect uncontradicted evidence that their brains are not fully developed and they're more susceptible to peer pressure – and more susceptible to positive change with the right counselling. In the end, the longest any of the girls spent in custody for the horrific beating and stabbing of a vulnerable homeless man was credited at 20 months. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ken Lee, who died after being stabbed in downtown Toronto, allegedly by a group of teenaged girls. Photo by Handout / Toronto Police Just after 9:30 pm on Dec. 17, 2022, the 13-year-old was seen with the other girls on the Yorkdale Subway platform running with a blue-handled knife. After play fighting, she handed the knife off to another in the group as they all boarded the southbound train to St. George. She admitted lunging and yelling at two male passengers and chasing them down the platform. She and her friends got kicked out of the station – only to re-enter and harass another passenger before catching the subway to St. Andrew. At the downtown station, she admitted trying to assault two women, but she was restrained by some of her friends – though she doesn't recall that part of the night. By 11:53 pm, the group arrived in the parkette at the foot of University Ave. A security video camera mounted on an office building captured the entire attack. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The judge found she was a 'very active participant in the swarming. She was aggressive throughout, landing multiple punches on Mr. Lee,' but she didn't have a weapon or deliver the fatal stab to the heart. Diagnosed with a Persistent Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Eating Disorder, Cannabis Use Disorder (which is in early remission), and Conduct Disorder, her parents split when she was five years old. At 12, she began smoking marijuana daily. She also seriously abused alcohol: She was hospitalized after attempting suicide by alcohol poisoning and in the months before the swarming, she blacked out five to six times. According to her pre-sentence report, she regretted the incident but also believed Lee put his hand on one of the girls and deserved to be beaten. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. While initially in custody, she was strip searched six times, and briefly left totally naked on four occasions. To comply with a judicial order banning the strip searches, she was then placed in segregation for 24 hours. After her release on bail, she was rearrested in February 2024 on charges she stabbed a TTC commuter at Wilson station – to which she later pleaded guilty. She was the first to plead guilty to manslaughter in the OCJ on May 30, 2024. Rose credited her with 15 months in custody for the 218 days she actually spent in open custody and 53 days in closed, and sentenced her to 21 months probation in the Intensive Support and Supervision Program (ISSP). 'I find (she) is at a real risk to re-offend violently if she is not given the benefit of extensive treatment and counselling in the next few years,' Rose said at the time. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More The teen with the long ponytail and fake eyelashes admitted that at the tender age of 13, she kicked Lee, threw a plastic water bottle at him and ' forcefully ' hit him twice in the head area with a green bag as he lay ' crumpled on the ground having just collapsed after being swarmed and attacked ' and ' was trying to protect his head from the onslaught of kicks, stomps and punches ' still being rained down on him by the others. She pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm i n the OCJ on June 4, 2024, ahead of her trial. Taking her three strip searches into account, Rose sentenced her to 12 months probation on Sept. 24, 2024. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She was 14 and one of the ringleaders when she joined up with the marauding teens creating mayhem on the subway and hit a woman outside the TTC's St. Andrews subway station. She stole a swig of booze from Tong and c ontinually hit Lee with her white shopping bag of ice. ' And even after he's on the ground and adults are breaking it off, she's still stomping on his head, ' Crown attorney Sarah De Filippis would say. ' She was one of the most violent in the group. She was dedicated to this attack and she was relentless, even to the last minutes when he was crumpled on the ground. ' Still frighteningly clueless, t he pigtailed teen had no remorse and minimized her role to an almost ' ludicrous degree,' the prosecutor said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Apprehended at nine months by child protection and raised by her loving grandmother, she was physically assaulted and sexually abused by her peers, with both incidents uploaded to social media, and she's been diagnosed with PTSD, ADHD and marijuana abuse and ' normalized stealing,' Rose said in his judgment. More concerning, he said, is her ' disturbing complete lack of acceptance of responsibility ' in comments she made in a court report: she called Lee ' a piece of s—, ' said ' I don't care ' about what happened, and it was ' not that serious ' to warrant a plea to manslaughter. Yet, she wrote an apology letter to the court and told her probation officer she feels bad for what she did. She ' tells different versions about this event depending on who she is speaking to, ' the judge concluded. ' Her acceptance of responsibility is nowhere near complete. ' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She pleaded guilty on June 24, 2024 to manslaughter and was sentenced Jan 28, 2025 to two years probation under the ISSP. She was credited with 15 months in pre-sentence custody after being strip searched seven times. RECOMMENDED VIDEO GIRL 4 (vise grips girl) The 13-year-old who met up with the other girls at Yorkdale subway station around 9 p.m. was smoking marijuana daily and was 'blackout drunk.' On the subway she was seen brandishing a pair of vise grip pliers and was part of an assault on two women at St. Andrews station. At the parkette, she w ielded the vise grips during her assault on Lee, hitting him from above about the head and upper torso area while he was pinned against a concrete wall. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the OCJ on June 17, 2024. She was sentenced by Rose to a 15-month ISSP probation order on Sept. 16, 2024, after serving 243 days of pre-sentence custody, being strip searched seven times and flown in the middle of the night 1,900 km away to Kenora when the sprinklers malfunctioned at Marjorie Amos detention centre in Brampton. The 16-year-old had been consuming Crown Royal and marijuana that night and was seen trying to stop some of the girls from assaulting strangers as they headed downtown. She was only involved in the last 23 seconds of the assault on Lee by raising a pylon over her head and hitting him with it three times. She went on trial for second-degree murder in the Superior Court of Justice earlier this year. Just as lawyers were scheduled to present closing arguments, she was allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter on Feb. 18 after the Crown made the surprising acknowledgment that prosecutors couldn't prove murder. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. ' No words can undo what happened, ' she told the court in her apology letter. ' My actions took away something sacred, something irreplaceable. ' Campbell sentenced her on May 16 to 15 months probation after she spent 288 days in custody and underwent six strip searches. RECOMMENDED VIDEO GIRL 6 (the bottle stealer) The 16-year-old pulled the hair of two Asian women on the subway ride downtown that night and unwittingly set the swarming in motion when she stole the bottle of booze from Tong. She admitted throwing a cup at Lee during the attack and filming his bloodied face before leaving the parkette. When she returned after the deadliest part of the assault, a shelter worker asked her to flag down an ambulance, which she did. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Her lawyer told the court she's finally on track to graduate from high school with hopes of attending college. Her trial for manslaughter was to begin May 5, 2025, in Superior Court but she pleaded guilty to assault on April 4 and was sentenced by Campbell to nine months probation after finding she'd been strip searched and her role in the swarming was 'relatively low.' GIRL 7 The teen, 14 at the time, was high on alcohol and marijuana, and was one of the least responsible in the violent attack : she wasn't armed, she had earlier tried to calm her co- accused and only became involved in the final phase of the swarming when she mistakenly believed Lee had initiated an assault on her friend, when he was really trying to defend himself. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The agreed statement said she 'hit, punched, kicked and filmed' Lee. The girl, diagnosed with PTSD, ADHD, conduct disorder and oppositional disorder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter before Campbell on May 5, 2025, the day her trial was set to begin in Superior Court. She was sentenced on June 26 to 12 months probation. Of the eight accused , she spent the most time in custody – 345 days – which Campbell credited to 18 months. GIRL 8 (the stabber) The alleged stabber, 14 at the time, tried to plead to manslaughter before her judge-alone trial earlier this year on second-degree murder charges but it was rejected by the Crown. On May 30, Campbell convicted her of manslaughter, finding she stabbed Lee shallowly under the armpit with eyebrow scissors and was lunging toward him again, but he couldn't conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that she inflicted the deep, fatal blow. Following a heartfelt apology and demonstrated progress, she was credited on Aug. 1 with 20 months for her 240 days in custody and four illegal strip searches. Campbell sentenced her to 16 months probation – with up to 12 months in the ISSP. mmandel@ Toronto Blue Jays Canada World Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA
