Judge will take month to make ‘difficult’ bail decision for youth charged in library slaying

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This article was published 22/12/2022 (733 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 16-year-old boy arrested in the slaying of 28-year-old Tyree Cayer at the Millennium Library two weeks ago will have to wait another month to learn if he will be released from custody.

The boy, who is charged with manslaughter and is one of four teens arrested in the killing, applied for bail Friday morning at the Manitoba Youth Centre. Crown prosecutors are opposing his release.

“This is a difficult… bail application, given the circumstances of the offence and the publicity it brought with it,” said provincial court Judge Robert Heinrichs at the conclusion of a 90-minute-long bail hearing. “So, I’m not going to just take a few minutes and make a decision. This youth will have to remain in custody until that decision is made.”

Heinrichs will deliver his decision on bail Jan. 20.

The accused teen’s parents and several other family members filled the small court gallery for the hearing.

Details of the bail hearing, including the alleged circumstances of the killing, cannot be disclosed under terms of a court-ordered publication ban.

The Millennium Library reopened with limited services Friday morning. The downtown branch had been closed since Dec. 11 when Cayer was stabbed to death on the building’s main floor.

A 14-year-old co-accused alleged to have stabbed Cayer and charged with second-degree murder remains in custody, as do a 15-year-old co-accused and 14-year-old co-accused who are charged with manslaughter.

Lawyers for the 14-year-old boy accused of stabbing Cayer appeared in youth court Friday morning to request the preparation of a forensic report in anticipation of a bail hearing to be set later.

The boy experienced a “traumatic incident” last year, defence lawyer Stacey Soldier said in requesting the report.

Heinrichs agreed to order the report and remanded the boy’s case to Jan. 11.

“Love you Mom, love you Dad,” the boy told his parents as he left court.

Cayer is Winnipeg’s 51st homicide victim of the year.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca

Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter

Someone once said a journalist is just a reporter in a good suit. Dean Pritchard doesn’t own a good suit. But he knows a good lawsuit.

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