Warning: This story contains some graphic details that may be disturbing.
The young man convicted of manslaughter in connection to the November 2022 death of Mehakpreet Sethi won't spend any more time in jail.
In Surrey provincial court Tuesday morning (Jan. 21), Judge Mark Jetté sentenced the accused to a custody and supervision order.
The custody order of time served is calculated as 12 days already served in custody, multiplied by 1.5 days per day, which is to be 18 days of time served. He also faces a supervision order of two years minus a day, to be served in the community.
The individual was a minor at the time of his arrest and was sentenced Tuesday (Jan. 21) in Surrey provincial court as a youth under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, so his name can not be released.
Sethi, 18, of Surrey, died after being stabbed outside Tamanawis Secondary School (12600 66 Ave.) in Newton on Nov. 22, 2022.
The Crown read victim impact statements on behalf of Mehakpreet’s mother, Simranjeet, his sister, Harshpreet and younger brother, Bhavpreet.
Each statement spoke about the immense toll Mehakpreet’s death has had on their lives.
Simranjeet’s statement spoke about the feeling she had the day her son was killed. She felt “something was off.”
“I was feeling anxious and something was consuming me inside since morning, when I received a call stating that my son was stabbed and is no longer born.”
“My complete world was disrupted. I felt an immense heartache, and it felt like my body stopped breathing all of a sudden,” Simranjeet said. “I held him inside me for nine months and raised him for 18 years, only for him to end up like this till this particular day. The pain of losing him is eating me alive. I don't want to live. I don't want to breathe one more day without him, but I have my other two children depending upon me,” she added.
“No words are able to express how much pain I'm in. With him, I died as well.”
'Life did us wrong': Family of slain Surrey teen shares grief
As a part of her statement, she included a letter to her son which read: “When I gave birth to you, I was on Cloud 9, because you were my first son. I saw you taking your first step, uttering your first word, and growing into this great man. Why did you leave your mother alone? Why did God took you instead of me? I don't feel like living anymore without you. I am just a body with no soul, because my soul went away without you. It is your other two siblings that are keeping me from coming to you. My heart is constantly aching all the time, and I just want to end this suffering and be with you. You didn't deserve this. You deserve to receive every ounce of success and happiness that this world can offer. Life did us wrong.”
Simranjeet and Mehakpreet's sister, Arshpreet, expressed their belief in the Canadian justice system.
Arshpreet described her brother as selfless. He would do anything for his family, she said.
As soon as she heard he had died, she rushed to the hospital only to be told she could not see her brother’s body due to the police investigation but could see it at the funeral home.
“On that day, I didn't want to go back to my house because the emptiness of not having my brother around anymore was eating me alive,” Arshpreet said.
Eight days later at the funeral home was the first time she got to see her brother.
“My legs were shivering and my heart and brain were numb as I moved towards Mehakpreet 's dead body at the funeral home,” she said. “The entire time, I was hoping that some miracle would happen and Mehakpreet would get up and say that it was all a prank.”
She gathered the clothing and accessories for her brother's last rituals.
Arshpreet spoke about how, in their religion, when a person dies, they are dressed up as a groom for their funeral.
“I always had a dream since childhood, to dress my brother up for his wedding as a groom, but I never thought that our destiny would unfold this way. Instead of dressing him up wedding, I was preparing for his last funeral rites.”
Mehakpreet's younger brother, Bhavpreet, spoke about in his statement how, on Nov. 22, Bhavpreet saw a fight break out at lunchtime when he was waiting for his brother to pick him up to go shopping for his birthday.
“Little did I know that it was my own brother that lost his life there,” he said. It wasn’t until he got home that his sister told him about his brother’s death.
“Since his death, I don't have a buddy anymore. I don't have anyone to play with. I don't have anyone to share stuff with. I no longer go outside to play. I just want to live in a closed room where I don't have to face anyone anymore.”
“Our whole life ended on the day that Mehakpreet passed away,” he said.
'Obligation and self-defence': Group interaction turned physical
The accused defence attorney, Simon Buck, noted it was important to consider that the offence was “committed in circumstances of obligation and self-defence," noting the accused did not seek out the confrontation.
During the Jan. 9 sentencing hearing, the Crown presented a statement of facts surrounding that day.
The day before, on Nov. 21, Sethi's girlfriend had told him that she felt the accused had disrespected her. The next day, Nov 22, Sethi went to Tamanawis Secondary that day with some friends looking for the accused to talk to him, the Crown said. The accused overheard Sethi asking where he was and identified himself.
A group of six to 10 males, including the accused, approached Sethi in the corner of the parking lot. The two groups exchanged words, and at some point, the interaction turned physical.
“He then found himself being grabbed by Mr. Sethi, and he believed, rightly or wrongly, that he was about to be kidnapped,” Buck said on Tuesday (Jan. 21).
“Immediately, he took the knife out of his pocket…(and) he thrust the knife upwards towards Mr. Sethi, who was standing very close to him. He did not intend to kill Mr. Sethi or to stab him in the heart. He intended only to repel him in that moment,” Buck said.
The accused believed Sethi posed an “immediate threat to his safety.”
“He did this to get out of a dangerous situation. He had no intention to kill him,” Buck added.
The accused addressed the court at the time of sentencing and was remorseful. He apologized for all the pain he caused Mehakpreet’s family.
etté said the pain Mehakpreet’s death has had on the family is apparent.
Cases like these are all too familiar, Jetté said. “Young men getting into conflicts over little or nothing can become tragic ... so sad because nobody intended this happened, but it did happen. Decisions were made. Several people's emotions are running high and not thinking clearly.”
Jetté agreed with the Crown’s and defence's joint submission for his sentence.
Along with the custody and supervision order Jetté also imposed some conditions, including not consuming any alcohol or prescription drugs, keeping the peace and being of good behaviour, being supervised by a youth worker, and completing 100 hours of community service before June 30, 2026.
He was also given a 10-year weapons ban, a DNA order, where he will provide a DNA sample, and to have no communication, either directly or indirectly, with certain members of Sethi’s family and several other individuals.
Jetté warned the accused that there will be consequences if he breaches these conditions.
He also addressed Mehakpreet’s family.
“Your voices count and you have been heard. I understand the enormity of your loss, and of course, you are the only ones who really feel the pain. The rest of us can only offer our sympathy and express sorrow with that loss. Nothing I say or do here can make up for that, repair the hurt,” Jette said.
“The court cannot do these things; sentencing doesn't accomplish these things. I hope that somehow the conclusion of its court proceedings, at least, will help in some small way,” Jette said.
The accused was sentenced under section 42(2)0 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.