The youth convicted in the death of 16-year-old Ashlee Hyatt at a house party in Peachland two years ago was sentenced to a year-and-a-half of custody, a Kelowna courthouse heard Wednesday.
The 19-year-old, who cannot be named because she was a minor at the time of the incident, was sentenced to nine months in secure custody and nine months of supervised custody, followed by 18 months probation.
“I don’t think the nine months is enough,” said Greg Hyatt, Ashlee’s father. “That’s what I’m really upset about. I think she should have been in there for at least two years. She still, to this day, doesn’t think she did it.”
Ashlee’s mother Charrie Hyatt said she hoped her daughter’s convicted killer “gets all the help she needs. Obviously she has a few issues. And I don’t know what else to say.”
The young woman who killed Ashlee was found guilty of manslaughter last November as a jury decided against convicting her of the more serious charge of second-degree murder.
The trial heard about 20 teens were at a house in Peachland after several teens, including the accused, finished a night of four-by-fouring and drinking.
At some point, Hyatt and the party's hostess accused the young suspect of cheating on her boyfriend, the trial heard.
That eventually escalated into a fight outside, during which Hyatt was stabbed in the neck.
The accused testified in her own defence, suggesting another teen held the knife during the fight, not her. Her lawyer described Hyatt's death as an accident.
But the trial heard from witnesses who testified the only person holding the knife was the accused.
The accused was initially charged with first-degree murder, but that was later reduced to second-degree murder, before the jury finally settled on manslaughter.
The maximum sentence for manslaughter under the Youth Criminal Justice Act is three years.
With files from Kent Molgat and The Canadian Press
