Mid-trial guilty plea: Trent Hynne admits to fatally stabbing Juliano Crawford-Vieira
Meghan Grant | CBC News | Posted: November 16, 2016 6:52 PM | Last Updated: November 16, 2016
Sentencing hearing to take place on Friday
In the middle of his second-degree murder trial, Trent Hynne has pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter for the stabbing death of Juliano Crawford-Vieira at a house party where a brawl broke out between high school students.
Crawford-Vieira bled to death outside a house party in Calgary in March 2014. Hynne was also originally charged with attempted murder for injuring Orest Tako in the same altercation but pleaded guilty on Wednesday to aggravated assault instead.
"The result here is fair," said Hynne's lawyer, Gavin Wolch. "It's fair, I think, from everybody's perspective; we've all heard the evidence."
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Two weeks into a three-week murder trial, evidence from Crown witnesses did not come out as expected and a plea offer was made.
In March 2014, two groups of high school friends had been feuding for weeks when members of those groups turned up at a party on Braniff Road S.W.
A verbal fight inside the home caused the host to kick out party-goers who spilled out into the street where the conflict escalated into a physical brawl.
Minutes later, Tako — who had also been stabbed — called 911 as Crawford-Vieira lay dying on the street. Hynne also pleaded guilty on Wednesday to aggravated assault for Tako's injuries.
Hynne confessed to the stabbings and bragged about them, said prosecutor Meagan Blake in her opening statement last week.
A second man, Roland Smith, was also charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder, but the prosecution indicated he will plead guilty to accessory after the fact to murder next month.
In June, two teens were found guilty of manslaughter in Crawford-Vieira's death. They cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
A sentencing hearing will take place on Friday. Wolch did not indicate what he would be seeking for a sentence.
"After the amount of time that's passed, he'll be very relieved to finally be able to move on with his life, do his time and eventually rejoin society."