Crown seeks adult sentence for 2nd teen guilty in death of Sagkeeng student Serena McKay

The Crown is asking for an adult sentence for a second teenage girl who pleaded guilty in the death of Sagkeeng First Nation student Serena McKay. 

The teen, who was 16 years old at the time of McKay's death and cannot be named, was charged with second-degree murder after video surfaced showing McKay being beaten the night she died. On Wednesday, in youth court in Winnipeg she pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Another teen girl, who was 17 years old at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder late last month, eight months after the 19-year-old's death in April. The Crown did not seek an adult sentence for that teen. 

McKay was a Grade 12 student about to graduate from Sagkeeng Anicinabe High School in Sagkeeng First Nation, 100 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, when her body was found on April 23, 2017.

In court on Wednesday, the accused teenager, who was wearing grey sweatpants, a grey sweater and glasses, looked down at her hands as Crown attorney Jennifer Comack read an agreed statement of facts in court.

When asked by provincial court Judge Robin Finlayson if she understood the manslaughter charges, she quietly said, "Yes."

The court heard that there were seven people at a party, including the accused and McKay, on the First Nation on the night of Saturday, April 22. The teens had brought a lot of alcohol to the party, including spiced rum, tequila, vodka and beer. 

The Crown attorney told the court it's not disputed that McKay was being aggressive throughout the party.

A fight broke out between the accused teenager and McKay over alcohol and at some point McKay was kicked out of the party, court heard.

That's when the fight turned physical.

Crown attorney Comack described how the accused began kicking and punching McKay.

Two videos filmed — which later became widely shared on Facebook — showed McKay being beaten.

Accused slept after kicking McKay out

In a 48-second video, the accused teen is heard saying, "I don't want to f--king see her alive," before asking the other teenager accused to take over, which she did, Comack said.

Another nine-second video also showed the other older teenager's boot stomping on McKay's face. 

After the fight, McKay was left outside without her phone or any of her belongings. The accused and two others went back into the house and went to sleep. 

McKay was eventually found by a community member and was pronounced dead by paramedics on the scene. Court heard that she likely died of hypothermia and that the injuries and alcohol would have made it difficult to get safe from the cold. 

In the days following the fight, court heard how the two teenage girls told some people they'd been in a fight with McKay. They also messaged between each other, talking about how the fight wasn't that bad with one asking the other to lie to police. 

On the Monday after the party, the younger accused teen went to talk to her high school guidance counsellor about the fight. The counsellor phoned RCMP.

The accused turned herself into RCMP two days after the fight and has been in custody since. Sentencing for the teen will take place in June.