An emotional day unfolded in a British Columbia courtroom Tuesday as the man who stabbed a 17-year-old boy to death on a transit bus in Surrey in 2023 was sentenced, prompting anger from the victim’s loved ones.
Kaden Mintenko, 23, who was found guilty of manslaughter, was sentenced to eight years in prison. With credit for time already served in pretrial custody, he has three years and four months left to serve.
Friends and family of the victim, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, expressed shock and frustration at the outcome.
“The amount of years he is getting is ridiculous,” a friend of the victim told reporters outside court.
Mintenko had originally been charged with second-degree murder following an altercation aboard a transit bus in Surrey. Court heard he punched the teen near the front of the 503 bus and, while the victim was on the ground, stabbed him in the upper right chest with a seven-inch knife. He could be heard saying, “watch your back.”
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The trial heard Mintenko intended to plead guilty to manslaughter at the outset, but the Crown proceeded with the murder charge. Justice Terry Schultes ultimately found there was reasonable doubt about intent and convicted him of the lesser offence.
Sentencing was delayed for more than a year while the court considered assessments of Mintenko’s cognitive ability and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
In his decision, Schultes pointed to the seriousness of the crime and the need for a significant period of incarceration, in part to allow Mintenko to receive counselling in federal prison. Psychological reports filed in court indicated he is at high risk to reoffend with violence.
Despite those findings, the remaining custodial sentence totals 40 months.
The victim’s loved ones described ongoing trauma and grief.
“I’m traumatized, his family is traumatized, his mother is barely holding on,” a friend said Tuesday. “She’s trying, and it really sucks seeing her like this.”
They also spoke about the loss of the teen’s future.
“The only phone call we get to have is with voicemail or the videos we have. Who knows where he could have been. We feel like his life would have been so great.”
If Mintenko serves the remainder of his sentence, he is expected to be released from federal prison in 2029.