Father of slain Calgary teen says son's murder had left a hole in an entire community, a day after his killer's guilty plea
The murder of Calgary teen Dean Visser has left a hole in the city's lacrosse community, his father said Thursday, a day after his killer pleaded guilty to a reduced charge.
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Kevin Visser told Postmedia that his son, like many teens, had his moments of rebellion.
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'But contrary to some beliefs, he was not a gang member,' the older Visser said, in a prepared text.
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His son's killer, who can't be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday in connection with the June 6, 2024, stabbing death of 16-year-old Visser.
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Maloney told Calgary Court of King's Bench Justice Lisa Silver that the victim and killer 'harboured animosity towards one another, and had expressed this animosity on the internet, primarily on Instagram.'
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Victim yelled who are you as he was being stabbed for hoodie
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That evening, Visser was wearing a high-end Bathing Ape hoodie, known as a BAPE, and carrying a second one for his girlfriend, court heard.
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His killer, wearing a black hooded sweater with the hood up ran up from behind with a knife in his hand and stabbed the victim three times, Maloney said.
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'During the stabbing Visser can be heard shouting 'who are you?'' the prosecutor said.
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'(The killer) is heard saying 'give me that BAPE.' Visser replies 'you can have the BAPE.''
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The offender then fled from the scene, running away with the hoodie he took from the deceased.
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The victim was rushed to Alberta Children's Hospital in life-threatening condition and died about two hours later.
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At the request of defence counsel Rebecca Snukal, Silver ordered an updated pre-sentence report on her client ahead of an as yet unscheduled sentencing hearing.
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Kevin Visser said his son was much more than a victim of a deadly, violent act.
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'Dean loved life. loved his friends and was passionate about relationships and was always willing to help those around him,' he wrote.
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'Dean's death has left a hole not only in the lives of family and friends, but also there is a hole in the lacrosse community.'
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Calgary Herald
17 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
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Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Toronto Star
‘Somebody was stabbed and he's dead': Unheard testimony and video footage from the girl swarm case
'I put my arm up, the knife went in.' Everyone had waited for this, to hear what the 16-year-old boy would say on the witness stand. This wasn't the trial for the girl accused of stabbing and killing Kenneth Lee, but instead the preliminary hearing, a kind of dress rehearsal involving all eight of the girls and their lawyers a year earlier. This is where legal issues — including whether the girls should stand trial — got ironed out. The boy had never agreed to speak to police. So, his testimony, seven days into the hearing, was a discovery of what he knew and what he would say at trial. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW He would never be called to testify at the Superior Court of Justice at the only trial that would go ahead — not once the Crown prosecutors and defence lawyers learned what he had to say. The girls had been drinking and smoking weed that night and were not acting like themselves, he said, which could have hurt the Crown's case that the girl intentionally harmed Lee. 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She complained of losing her voice from talking too much. He asked why she wasn't making eye contact. 'I can't look at people when I talk to them . . . It makes me uncomfortable,' she said. Eventually the detective turned his laptop around to play the surveillance video from the parkette for her. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The girl leaned forward, tucking her chin into her hoodie as she watched. She pointed herself out in the video. 'Do you want to just tell me what happened?' the detective asked. 'I want to see what happened,' she responded. She couldn't remember, she said, telling the officer she hadn't been sober. 'I remember, but just don't remember,' she said. The detective continued playing the video from the parkette. 'He dies after this, from what happened to him,' the detective said. 'He suffered stab wounds . . . Did you stab him?' There is a long silence. She doesn't answer.
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Five youths charged after deploying bear spray at bus near Chinook station
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