‘Our young people are in crisis,’ Youth advocates highlight need for mental health supports after Toronto convicts youngest murderer in city’s history – NOW Toronto

Advocates are calling for better mental health support to address the growing rates of crime among youth after a boy was found guilty of killing his cousin when he was 12 years old, reportedly marking Toronto’s youngest convicted felon. 

On Thursday, the lawyer representing the boy, Alonzo Abbey, confirmed the guilty plea in court. The young boy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for stabbing his cousin in 2023. 

At the time, both he and his cousin were only 12 years old. The two cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The boy’s lawyer says he has since turned 13.

In Canada, the minimum age to be held responsible for a crime is 12 years old, but a child that age can’t be sentenced as an adult. 

The incident occurred in a Scarborough apartment building near Dundalk Drive and Antrim Crescent around 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 5, 2023. The boy was living with his aunt, uncle and their children at the time. 

The boy’s aunt found her 12-year-old daughter with multiple stab wounds in the bathtub of the apartment, while the boy was found on the outer side of the balcony railing. 

Media reports say Crown attorney Sylvana Capogreco claims the boy has refused to provide the details behind the crime. The case is expected to return to court this fall, where a date for sentencing will be set. 

The Toronto Star says this case marks the first time a child has been found guilty of a murder committed when they were 12 years old, based on their archives. 

In light of the crime, some youth advocates in the city are highlighting the need for better support and more funding to education.

President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) Professional Student Services personnel Solange Scott says this further proves why cuts to education lead to a negative impact on young people. 

“It is devastating, so I am very sad for the family. I am also extremely disappointed in our government because the cuts to education continue to disadvantage our students and continue to disadvantage our young people, and our young people are in crisis,” she said in an interview with Now Toronto on Friday. 

“When you continue to take away funding from education for our young people, we’re going to continue to see really horrific things like this happen,” she continued. 

She goes on to say that this is also the aftermath of not having enough supports in place when students came out of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“You need to fund education properly. Our students are coming out of a pandemic. When they did not have any support, our government completely cut funding to mental health supports for these students, and so, they were left out there on their own, trying to get better, trying to do better, but they were failing because there weren’t any supports in place,” Scott said.

Similarly, Toronto Family Therapy Founder and Registered Social Worker Joanna Seidel believes the effects of the pandemic are long-term and will continue to be seen in youth. 

“Children were isolated, stuck in their home, not making those social connections, just left up to their own thoughts. School and socializing and community and programs, what they do for us is it distracts us in so many ways, in a good way, and it’s so good for our well being, and we lost years of that during the pandemic,” she said in an interview with Now on Friday.

In addition, she says the incident is an indicator of poor mental health amongst youth. 

“I think that a lot of our youth are struggling with mental health issues and they’re not being addressed and they’re not getting proper care and support that is required,” she begins. 

“What is key is early intervention. Youth being supported by mental health professionals, so they have a place to express their feelings that are really negative, and even to express their thoughts, whether they’re dark or violent, and have a therapist educate them on thoughts versus behaviours and their conduct,” she added.

Seidel says youth are also affected by their surrounding environments and that is why it’s important to establish a healthy one within one’s family and within their city. 

“We need to also focus on parenting education and parenting support and family counselling, because I think that if youth feel secure and safe and stable and happy in their home, it’s very unlikely that they’re going to want to behave violently,” she said.

“And I think we’ve seen in our city, some chaos, right? Like, we’ve been seeing chaos in our city lately, and I think that if we see the city more stable and just running smoothly, then I think youth will feel a greater sense of comfort and a greater sense of community,” she continued.

Overall, she emphasizes that youth need to be taught empathy at a young age because that is the foundation towards genuinity and authenticity.