May 14, 2008
Teen admits assaulting boy who later died[singlepic=44,320,240,,right]
Bob Mitchell
Staff Reporter
A Mississauga teen has pleaded guilty to uttering a death threat and assault with a weapon in connection with a fight with another teen, who later died in hospital.
But medical officials determined there was no direct link between the fight and Derek Conway’s death on an operating table 30 days later.
Conway, 13, collapsed at a friend’s house in Mississauga and fell into a coma on Dec. 3, 2007, two days after hitting his head on a window ledge of an apartment building.
In pleading guilty yesterday in a Brampton courtroom, a 14-year-old boy admitted he pushed Conway into the ledge after pointing the blade of a utility knife at him.
Another teen, 17, has yet to deal with his charges in connection with the incident at a Seneca Ave. apartment. Court heard how after the brief altercation, Conway went home but complained about having a headache and told friends he thought he had a concussion.
He collapsed at a friend’s house two days later and was rushed unconscious to hospital with a brain hemorrhage.
He remained in a coma and died unexpectedly on Dec. 31 while undergoing an operation to remove fluid from around his heart, court heard yesterday.
It has recently been determined the deceased boy had a pre-existing medical problem.
Both teens remain under house arrest.
The younger boy’s attorney, Gary Batasar, has asked for a pre-sentence report for his client, who is expected to be sentenced later this summer.
(Date unknown)
No manslaughter charge in teen’s death
Bob Mitchell
Staff Reporter
Two Mississauga teens won’t be charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a 13-year-old boy late last year, says one of the arrested teen’s attorneys.
Derek Conway died in hospital on Dec. 31 Рsome 30 days after being roughed up by two older teens. Peel Police charged the teens, aged 14 and 17, on Dec. 4 and 5 with possession of a dangerous weapon, assault with a weapon, threatening death and aggravated assault were waiting on toxicology results to determine whether the Dec. 1 beating played any role in the young boy‚Äôs death.
Those results have now come back and it’s been determined the attack didn’t cause death of the Riverside Public School student, according to attorney Gary Batasar, who represents one of the accused teens.
An autopsy determined his death was caused by a pre-existing medical condition.
“The Crown made the right decision,” said Batasar, who was informed earlier this week that manslaughter charges wouldn’t be laid. “There wasn’t any toxicological or forensic evidence to warrant manslaughter.”
At the time of the attack, several students made threats against the arrested teens on Facebook. Their identities remain protected by Canada’s youth laws. Their next court date is scheduled for May 13 in Brampton and they remain on bail under house arrest.
Police have never revealed why Conway was beaten near an apartment on Seneca Ave. near Lakeshore Rd. But friends previously said the young boy made it home afterwards, and even went to school the next day and a friend’s house afterwards.
George Serediuk, his father, told The Star at the time that his son never complained of being sick or injured until he collapsed at a friend’s house two days later.
He was unconscious by the time he arrived at The Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga before being transferred to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, suffering from a brain aneurysm, Serediuk said.
The Grade 8 student remained on life support. While in hospital, he developed pneumonia and had a perforated ulcer.
Friends told The Star the fight started after the accused made disparaging remarks about Conway’s mother, who died about five years earlier.
Police previously confirmed the accused teens had box cutters in their possession but never used them during the altercation.
May 8, 2008
Teen’s death not linked to attack
Louie Rosella
Manslaughter charges will not be laid against two teenagers after a coroner’s report failed to link the death of a 13-year-old Port Credit boy with a beating he took late last year.
Riverside Public School student Derek Conway died in hospital on Dec. 31. Peel Regional Police had been trying to determine if a violent attack by two teens on Dec. 1 caused his death.
Two Mississauga teens, aged 14 and 17, are charged with weapons dangerous, assault with a weapon and threatening death in connection with Conway’s injuries. Both are out on bail. Their identities cannot be revealed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Gary Batasar, lawyer for one of the teens, said he was informed yesterday that charges will not be upgraded to manslaughter, after investigators examined toxicology and pathology reports from the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto.
“The Crown made the right decision. Clearly, it’s impossible to link any of the activities of my client with the death,” Batasar said Thursday. “My client is greatly relieved and so is his family.”
The accused teens appear in court on Tuesday, May 13.
The attack took place on Seneca Ave., near Lakeshore Rd., just west of Cooksville Creek. Police aren’t saying what prompted the beating.
Conway was rushed to the Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto two days later suffering from a brain aneurysm, according to his father, George Serediuk.
The boy was unconscious and on life support when he was admitted to hospital on Dec. 3, his father said. He had surgery for the aneurysm and was able to blink in response to nurses’ questions, but he never regained the ability to speak.
In the weeks that followed, he twice developed pneumonia and had a perforated ulcer.
An autopsy determined the cause of death was infection caused by internal bleeding, Serediuk said.
Police wouldn’t reveal details of the coroner’s report. But a source close to the case said Conway’s death was the result of a pre-existing medical condition.
“Derek was a well-liked kid by everyone who knew him on the Lakeshore, from teachers to students and others,” the distraught father told The News in a recent interview. “He was all I could ever want in a son.”
A good friend of Conway said that the altercation began when two older teens made disparaging remarks about Conway’s mother, who had died more than five years earlier.
“These circumstances are sad and frustrating; they would be for any father,” Serediuk said, adding his son loved to fish and learn about the environment.