Standing on the steps of the New Westminster court house Thursday morning, Julie L’Heureux took some time to answer a questions from a group of reporters. Just a few minutes earlier, Karim Meskine’s mother got the verdict she was confident would be returned.
Her son’s killer, a young offender, was guilty of murder.
“There’s no way to describe the way I feel; nobody can tell unless you go through that,” she told the media. “It has completely destroyed and teared apart my family for the rest of our lives.”
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Gregory Bowden found the accused, who can’t be named in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act, guilty of second degree murder after beating the 19-year-old Meskine repeatedly in the head with a baseball bat in December 2013.
The youth, who was 16 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but Crown prosecutors rejected the plea, insisting on a second degree murder charge.
The trial wrapped up in May.
Meskine was attacked while walking near the 22nd Street SkyTrain station on the evening of Dec. 17, 2013. He was found unconscious and rushed to hospital but never regained consciousness. He died three days later.
In his verdict, Bowden detailed the events leading up to and after the murder.
The accused and three friends had planned to rob someone for money at the SkyTrain station the night of the murder, and set up meeting with someone to buy an expensive phone.
But the intended victim got suspicious after they asked him to meet the group in a dark area by the station, and he cancelled the deal.
Friends testified the accused was upset, and, while walking back, he struck Meskine, who happened to be walking along the path near the station.
The judge found the youth hit Meskine with the bat at least three times using a significant amount of force, causing multiple skull fractures.
He was found by a passerby in a pool of blood and taken to hospital where he later died.
Less than two hours after the attack, the youth called 911 and admitted to robbing a man. He was arrested at his home by police.
The judge noted the teen had been drinking and smoking pot the evening of the incident, but found the youth to be only mildly intoxicated. Bowden also said there was little evidence the attack was robbery and concluded the accused intended to cause bodily harm.
A sentencing date had not been set prior to the Record’s deadline. Crown lawyers told the judge they intend to seek an adult sentence.
Outside the courthouse, Meskine’s mother said the verdict was just the first step and she was looking forward to the sentencing.
L’Heureux said even if her son’s killer spends the rest of his life behind bars, it won’t bring Meskine back.
“My grieving process is going to be for the rest of my life until I die,” she said.
