12-year-old Lethbridge boy, charged with attempted murder against brother, pleads guilty

A 12-year-old Lethbridge boy accused of attempted murder against his own brother in August has pleaded guilty.

A 12-year-old boy charged with the attempted murder of his seven-year-old brother in Lethbridge has pleaded guilty.

The accused, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, appeared in a Lethbridge courtroom via CCTV from an Edmonton hospital.

His lawyer entered a guilty plea to one count of attempted murder.

According to an agreed statement of facts read out in the courtroom, the two brothers were home alone on Aug. 27 while their father was at the store.

The accused became enraged and “wanted to cause harm” against his brother.

The Crown read that the younger boy ran to a bedroom and hid under a blanket.

The 12-year-old went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and entered the bedroom where he stabbed his brother nine times at random.

The accused then went outside to wait for his father to return home. When he did, the accused told him that his brother “was dead inside.”

Police and EMS responded and transported the victim to hospital.

Because of the extent of his injuries, he was airlifted to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton for treatment.

According to the agreed statement of facts, the accused had “an urge to act out from voices in his head” and had researched murder prior to the incident.

As the Crown read the statement to the court, the accused sat still with his arms crossed looking at the video monitor of the courtroom.

The judge has adjourned the case to February for sentencing.

It’s unclear how the younger boy is doing now.