An Oshawa judge has given the maximum youth sentence to a 15-year-old who pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of a beloved Pickering grandmother.
During a hearing at an Oshawa courthouse Wednesday morning, Superior Court Justice Lisa Wannamaker said the teen — who can’t be identified due to provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) — must serve five more years in custody at a facility and then four years in the community as part of a rigorous, supervised reintegration plan.
Under the YCJA, six years in custody is the maximum allowed as part of a youth sentence. Wannamaker gave a year of credit for pre-sentence custody, which is a position the boy’s attorney argued a day before as part of the sentencing hearing.
During a hearing in April, the teen pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
As part of the sentence, the teen received a lifetime weapons ban, a submission of DNA to a national registry, a non-communication order, a forfeiture of evidence seized as part of the Durham Regional Police investigation, and several other conditions when out as part of the community reintegration plan.
Wannamaker said she considered the boy’s young age and the fact he pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, sparing Doney’s loved ones from a trial. She also noted that the boy will never set foot in a high school, and “young people experience time differently than adults” because they’re still cognitively developing.
However, the judge said the boy is still preoccupied with violence, inconsistent in his explanations for the murder and unwilling to accept full blame for the crime.
Eleanor Doney, an 83-year-old grandmother and retired Kindergarten teacher, was gardening in front of her Lynn Heights Drive home on May 29, 2025, when the teen stabbed her eight times. She died in a hospital a short time later.
The killing shook the north Pickering neighbourhood and devastated Doney’s husband of 63 years, forcing him to move out of their home and into an assisted-living facility, the judge said.
“There is no dispute that this was a horrific crime that forever changed the lives of many people,” Wannamaker told the Oshawa courtroom.
Judy Kirwin, Doney’s daughter, read a statement to reporters moments after Wednesday’s hearing. She questioned if the teen can be rehabilitated.
“Ironically, the name Eleanor means shining light and this light is on the Canadian youth justice system. Are our youth being protected or is justice being served? Her horrific end cries out for justice,” Kirwin said.
“It was alarming to hear in court that he still has a fascination with serial killers.”
Peter Kirwin, Doney’s son-in-law, said he and his family have been dealing with “different feelings at different times,” including thoughts of anger and revenge. However, he said the teen had a difficult childhood.
“I spoke to his dad yesterday, and I said it must be very hard for them,” Peter said.
“It’s been a terrible year for them, it’s been a terrible year for our family, so hurt causing more hurt doesn’t solve anything, right?
“If he’s rehabilitated with the experience he has and what he’s gone through, maybe he can make a huge difference in the community. Maybe he can make a huge commitment, huge change for other people who are thinking of going through the same thing, so I wish the best for him.”
Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe said in a statement to CityNews that the community continues to mourn Doney.
“We hope today’s sentencing brings a measure of justice and closure to her family,” he wrote.
Court heard that the day before the killing, the boy had been suspended for bringing a knife to school, was increasingly absent from class and facing expulsion as he fantasized about murder. Investigators found photos the boy had taken of the intersection near Doney’s house dating back nearly two weeks before the fatal attack, court heard.
Carrying a briefcase and wearing a black trench coat, the boy struck up a brief conversation with Doney before stabbing her eight times, the judge said. Surveillance footage captured the boy fleeing the scene and leaving the knife in a wooded area, where it was later found by police.
Police arrested the boy, who was 14 at the time, at his family home that evening and seized a knife set with his fingerprints on it and one knife missing, court heard.
Leading up to the murder, the boy had searched online for serial killers, stabbings and evading police detection, and in online conversations with other students at his elementary school he contemplated killing his grandmother and hurting animals, court heard.
Deputy Crown attorney Tammy D’eri said the Crown was initially going to attempt to seek an adult sentence for the youth, but eventually decided, based on medical reports, that adult-like maturity couldn’t be proven “beyond reasonable doubt.”
Meanwhile, the Kirwins said they hope the case inspires politicians to take action and bring systemic changes.
“We are failing our young people by dismissing the idea that they don’t know the difference between right and wrong. As a result, we are failing to fulfill the purpose of the justice system, which is to keep our communities safe and secure,” Judy said.
“The community’s been rocked by it. Are you afraid of your mother being killed? Are you afraid of maybe your daughter? Like, something’s got to happen to protect the community and to bring back safety. Something has got to happen, and hopefully, maybe there can be an inquest into what’s going on.”
With files from The Canadian Press