Murder of Serena McKay

Serena Chelsea McKay (September 30, 1997 – April 22 or 23, 2017) was a Canadian woman whose murder was posted online. McKay had preferred to go by the name "Serenity".[1] The teenage girls who have pleaded guilty to her murder were aged 16 and 17 at the time of their arrest.[2]

Serena McKay
Born
Serena Chelsea McKay

September 30, 1997
DiedApril 22 or 23, 2017 (aged 19)
Sagkeeng First Nation, Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba
NationalityCanadian
Parents
  • Harvey McKay (father)
  • Delores Daniels (mother)

Murder

The murder happened on the Sagkeeng First Nation 100 kilometers northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her murder was filmed and posted online causing great outrage across Canada. The video came in a short version, and in a long version. The short version was posted on Facebook. The long version was available for 4 hours but later deleted after Sagkeeng's Grand Chief Derrick Henderson requested that Facebook remove the short video from the website. It is not exactly known whether she died on April 22 or April 23 as she was last seen on the evening of April 22, 2017, confirmed missing at 6:pm on April 23, 2017, and a dead body later confirmed to be Serena McKay was found at 8:pm on April 23, 2017.

Investigation

After McKay's body was found two teenagers were arrested.[3] Their names cannot be revealed publicly because of a Canadian law that prohibits releasing names of youth-criminals or accused youth-criminals. It is known that the two girls went to school with McKay. Prosecutors had previously tried to seek adult sentences for the two teenage girls after they had pleaded guilty.[4]

Aftermath

A vigil was held in Winnipeg on April 29, 2017, with hundreds marching.[5] McKay's funeral was held at Westwood Church in Winnipeg on May 1, 2017. She was also buried in Winnipeg. At McKay's high school's graduation on June 23, 2017,[6] what would have been her seat was left empty and marked with a red graduation gown and diploma to honour her memory.

On May 26, 2017, the 17-year-old suspect had her first trial at a Winnipeg provincial court where both the defense lawyers and prosecutors requested a psychological test. She had been remanded to the Manitoba Youth Center (a youth prison which has both remand, post remand, and convict units) since her arrest shortly after the murder and subsequently pleaded guilty to the charge.[7][8] She has since claimed that she is very sorry for what she has done.[9] A Manitoba judge sentenced her to two years in prison and a year of conditional supervision for McKay's death.[10]

The 16-year-old was also ordered to undergo a psychological assessment, and also pleaded guilty,[11][12] but has yet to be sentenced. A condition of the older girl's sentence was that the two are not allowed to communicate with one another while the sentence is being served.[13]

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References
  1. "'It was all about love': funeral for Serena McKay celebrates how she lived". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  2. "'What if that was my daughter?': Sagkeeng mother holding vigil for slain Serena McKay". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  3. "One of the killers in the videotaped beating death of girl in Sagkeeng to be sentenced Thursday - APTN NewsAPTN News". aptnnews.ca. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  4. May, Katie (2017-05-26). "Crown wants adult sentences for teens accused in Serena McKay slaying". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  5. May, Katie (2017-12-22). "Female teen pleads guilty to murder for April attack on Sagkeeng First Nation". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  6. "Crown seeks adult sentence for 2nd teen guilty in death of Sagkeeng student Serena McKay | CBC News". CBC. Archived from the original on 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  7. "Manitoba woman, 18, pleads guilty to murder of classmate shown beaten in online videos | CBC News". CBC. Archived from the original on 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  8. "Teen pleads guilty in Manitoba woman's fatal beating". Archived from the original on 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  9. Malone, Kelly Geraldine (2018-04-24). "'How sorry I am:' Teen guilty in fatal beating apologizes to victim's family". CTVNews. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  10. "17-year-old gets maximum youth sentence in videotaped beating death of Serena McKay". Archived from the original on 2018-08-03. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  11. "Second teen pleads guilty in death of Serena McKay". CJOB. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  12. "Second girl pleads guilty in Serena McKay death". Winnipeg. 2018-01-10. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  13. "Teen convicted in Serena McKay beating death sentenced to 3 years". Global News. Archived from the original on 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
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