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Court learns teen who murdered Devan Selvey has attacked inmates 3 times

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A courtroom at John Sopinka Courthouse heard alarming details on Tuesday about a young offender convicted of murdering Devan Selvey in 2019. The court was told the teenager who stabbed and killed Selvey has attacked inmates three times in the institution where he is being held. That information came out despite a parole officer’s report that gave a positive view of the convicted teen’s behaviour.

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Selvey was 14 when he was stabbed in the back and killed outside Sir Winston Churchill high school almost four years ago. The teenager who killed him can’t be identified because of his age. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was given a seven-year sentence.

His sentence was up for an annual review today, as the teenager turns 18 this month. A parole officer’s report said he was “polite and respectful” to staff at the Sprucedale Youth Centre in Simcoe. It described him as “a leader at times of conflict among his peers.”

Judge Justice Andrew Goodman called the report’s tone “overly optimistic.” At one point someone in the courtroom laughed out loud when the parole officer was describing the convicted youth’s behaviour.

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Crown attorney Brett Moodie cross-examined the parole officer. He asked about three assaults committed by the convicted teen in the youth centre, in at least two cases punching other teens in the head from behind. He was convicted of assault in one of the attacks. Moodie said other inmates are afraid of him and some needed protective custody for their safety.

Shari-Ann Selvey, Devan’s mother says, “It’s kind of shocking to hear that he’s got three assaults in a three-month period. He has so much given to him to make him a better person but yet he’s still reverting to the person he was, still attacking people from behind.”

Devan’s friend Brody Wagan says there has to be justice, “He should be staying in there. He should be trialed as an adult, he’s almost an adult.”

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The judge ruled that the convicted teenager will be kept in custody until next year, and a decision on whether he should be kept in jail longer could depend on his behaviour over the next year.