Brandy Vittrekwa's killer gets 2 years jail, 1 year supervision

A teenage boy who admitted to killing Brandy Vittrekwa a year and a half ago in Whitehorse has been sentenced to two years in jail, and one year in community supervision.

It's the maximum allowable sentence for a young offender charged with manslaughter. The boy has been in custody since April 2015, but will receive no credit for time served.

He cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Crown prosecutors had argued that the boy's criminal past — at the time of the killing he was already serving a community sentence for an equally violent assault — and the callous nature of Vittrekwa's killing warranted an adult sentence. 

Judge Peter Chisholm rejected that.

"He's unsophisticated and immature for his age," said Judge Chisholm as he delivered the sentence on Thursday. 

"It's the reason we treat youths differently."

An adult sentence could have meant four to six years in jail.

Family, friends 'severely devastated'

The Whitehorse courtroom was packed as Chisholm delivered the sentence. He reviewed the boy's troubled, violent family history and spoke of the boy's recent efforts to upgrade his education and curb his temper. 

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​The boy, who was 15 at the time of the crime, admitted to beating Vittrekwa unconscious and leaving her to die in the snow, in December 2014. Both had been walking home from a drinking party and were severely intoxicated, though Vittrekwa was the drunker of the two, Chisholm said.

Vittrekwa was living in Whitehorse with her family but was originally from Fort McPherson, N.W.T.

On Wednesday, a day ahead of the sentencing, a group of demonstrators gathered in front of the Yukon courthouse, with signs demanding "Justice for Brandy." 

Outside the courtroom on Thursday, Vittrekwa's family and friends hugged each other and cried.

"We are all severely devastated by this," said one of the grieving family members who didn't want to be identified.

Prosecutors say Vittrekwa's killer will likely be placed in a secure facility in southern B.C. for his two years in custody.

When that's done, the judge will review the young man's time in custody to determine what conditions should be placed on the 12 months he will serve in the community.