Lawsuit in teen's arson-related death quashed

The owners of a Winnipeg house where a 14-year-old boy was killed in a gang-inspired firebombing will not be held liable for his death, a Manitoba judge has ruled.

A lawsuit filed by the parents of Nathan Starr against the owners of 400 Mountain Ave. was dismissed in a written decision released Monday by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg.

Kimberly and Perry Daniels, Starr's parents, were seeking $126,000 in damages from Roger Roesler and Debbie McKelvey, alleging the homeowners had violated the provincial Occupier's Liability Act.

Two Indian Posse gang members lobbed firebombs at the front porch of the three-storey North End home early on Dec. 4, 2007, while 11 people were inside. The pair have since been convicted of manslaughter.

Two police officers noticed the fire, smashed a window and pulled 10 people — including Roesler and McKelvey — from the home.

Starr, however, died of smoke inhalation after being trapped in a third-floor bedroom.

His parents alleged that McKelvey and Roesler were negligent because some of the windows of the house and one exit were boarded up, preventing emergency crews from trying to rescue Starr.

But Justice Shawn Greenberg said in her eight-page decision that Roesler and McKelvey were not at fault for the teen's death.

Gang members hit wrong house

"I conclude that, even assuming that the boarding up of the side door was negligent, [Starr's parents] have not established that it was a contributing cause to Nathan's death," Greenberg wrote.

The teenage boy and man who firebombed the house are mostly responsible for Starr's death, the judge said.

The teen's parents "have experienced the worst loss one can imagine," Greenberg wrote. "But they have not established that anything [McKelvey and Roesler] did or should have done contributed to that loss."

Starr's parents also argued that there were no working smoke detectors in the house, but Greenberg said evidence showed there were two, and there was no proof they weren't maintained properly.

Riel Mitchell, 28, and 18-year-old Dylan Atkinson remain in prison for the arson-related manslaughter. Both thought they were hitting a home that belonged to rival drug dealers, but that home was down the street.

Atkinson was 16 at the time he was charged but was sentenced as an adult.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act restriction barring the publication of his name was lifted at the time his adult sentence was imposed.