deadmonton 2004 - kane vervoort
Kane VerVoort, 17, was stabbed to death January 1st, 2004.
Andrew Gordon Stewart Mair, 18, was charged with second-degree murder.
When a New Year's Eve house party at an acreage north of St. Albert got a little too rowdy, the mother of the teen hosting the celebration decided to shut it down.
A crowd of about 100 was told to leave and cabs were called. One teen was shut out of a cab and tried to re-enter the house to escape the -20C weather.
A shoving match broke out and Kane VerVoort (left), a visiting teen from High Level, was stabbed five to seven times -- three thrusts to his inner thighs, one to his abdomen -- with a fatal wound piercing his heart.
Andrew Mair was charged with second-degree murder.
At his trial Mair insisted he was fighting for his life when he stabbed VerVoort. He said he was swarmed by angry teens who punched him repeatedly and knocked him down.
Mair said he pulled out a knife he had taken from the house for protection and stabbed one of his assailants in an attempt to stop the beating.
Jurors also heard testimony that Mair had earlier grabbed the knife from the home and one witness said he heard him say "this guy is going down" just before he stabbed Vervoort.
Earlier at the party Mair had been involved in a couple of altercations where angry words were exchanged. He later grabbed a kitchen knife, hiding it beneath his clothes.
Mair, who turned 18 on the day of the stabbing, was tried as a young offender and couldn't previously be named. The seriousness of the crime convinced the court to sentence Mair as an adult and lift the publication ban on his name.
Mair was convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter by a jury on October 18th, 2005.
Mair was sentenced December 1st to five-and-one-half years in prison.