Slain teen Andrew McAdam's mother Linda Childes (left) and grandmother Heather Stewart were upset with the Crown accepting accused killer Jamie Paul Wolanski's manslaughter plea. The two women were at Penticton Supreme Court on Monday, along with dozens of family members and friends, to hear the accused plead. Wolanski was originally facing a second degree murder charge.
(SHANNON QUESNEL / iNFOnews.ca)
July 29, 2013 - 6:26 PM
AVOIDS SECOND-DEGREE MURDER TRIAL
PENTICTON - The mother of a slain teen is angry her son's killer will face sentencing for manslaughter rather than a trial for second degree murder.
Linda Childes, the mother of slain teen Andrew McAdam, watched Jamie Paul Wolanski plead guilty on Monday to manslaughter for killing McAdam at a grad party on June 11, 2011. Wolanski also pleaded not guilty to the second degree murder charge he originally faced. He was due for a judge-and-jury trial in August.
Judge Gale Sinclair accepted the plea and arranged for Wolanski to be sentenced on Sept. 10 at 9:30 a.m. in court room 200. Wolanski was then released on bail.
Outside the court Childes said she was upset when she learned the Crown office would accept the plea from Wolanski and defence lawyer Clarke Burnett.
McAdam's grandmother, Heather Stewart, said manslaughter is an "easy way out for him."
"He did commit murder," Childes said. "He killed Andrew. The Crown is supposed to be Andrew's voice and they are accepting the plea of manslaughter? It makes no sense."
"I just don't understand why this boy (Wolanski) would be allowed to meet his first love, have his first baby, have his first everything when my grandson can't," Stewart said through tears. "His hand took that away from us."
McAdam's mother hopes Sinclair gives Wolanski the maximum sentence for manslaughter which is imprisonment for life.
To contact a reporter for this story, to send photos or videos, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065 or tweet @shannonquesnel1
News from © iNFOnews, 2013