A preliminary hearing is underway in Hamilton for a teenage boy who’s been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Hamilton teenager Devan Selvey.
Devan was 14 when he was killed last October outside of Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, where he was a Grade 9 student.
Two teenagers were arrested in connection with the murder — a boy who was the same age as Devan at the time, and an 18-year-old.
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Preliminary hearing for teen accused of killing Devan Selvey to start this fall
The 18-year-old was initially also charged with first-degree murder, but that was reduced to assault with a weapon and administering a noxious substance before eventually being reduced to unauthorized possession of a weapon.
He pleaded guilty to that charge in August and was given a suspended sentence, along with 15 months probation.
Neither teen can be named due to a publication ban.
The preliminary hearing for the younger teen — who is now 15 — began on Thursday with a slight delay due to a 20-person limit on the number of people in the courtroom at John Sopinka Courthouse.
Some family and friends of Devan were not allowed to watch the proceedings in person and were directed to watch via a Zoom link.
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Conversations about bullying continue a year after the death of Devan Selvey
It’s expected that the preliminary hearing will run through November and into the middle of December, which coincides with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board hearing from a bullying review panel.
That panel, which will present a report and a list of recommendations to the school board on Dec. 16, was put together in response to Devan’s murder.
Devan’s mother, Shari-Ann Selvey, said she repeatedly tried to get help for her son who was frequently bullied at school before he was fatally stabbed.
–With files from Don Mitchell, Global News
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