A woman whose dogs attacked and killed an 11-year-old boy in Edmonton in 2024 has been sentenced to two years of house arrest. Crystal MacDonald was found guilty in May of criminal negligence causing death after Kache Grist was fatally mauled by her two Cane Corsos. She will also serve 200 hours of community service and was given a lifetime ban on dogs, which she can try to appeal in 10 years. Kache, who lived with his mother in B.C., was visiting his father, Wesley Grist, in the Summerside neighbourhood of south Edmonton over spring break. Wesley was living with MacDonald as a roommate at the time. During the trial, MacDonald said she told Wesley repeatedly not to leave Kache alone with the dogs. Before Kache was killed, the dogs had killed two pets and injured three adults, including MacDonald. Wesley said he had let Kache go into the house to play a video game while he was working in the garage. When Wesley went inside about 45 minutes later, he found his son in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor, surrounded by the two dogs. An autopsy found Kache died from bite injuries to the neck. The dogs have since been euthanized.A five-year jail sentence was sought by the Crown, which argued that MacDonald was negligent in causing Kache’s untimely death. The defence told court that MacDonald, who was in tears during her sentencing hearing Thursday, was remorseful. “She is deeply sorry for the pain and unimaginable harm she’s caused to many,” said the defence. It was asked by the defence that Justice Eric Macklin consider an Indigenous Background Report, which detailed MacDonald’s personal, family and systemic history, where she was reported to have been sexually abused as a child and received inconsistent caregiving growing up on top of racism and discrimination. “This whole process has been extremely emotional for her,” said defence lawyer Evan McIntyre. “The issue in this case was never whether the dogs caused Kache’s death, the issue is whether she was legally responsible for that death.” An appeal has been filed for MacDonald’s conviction. “It’s not necessarily contradictory to say that she feels incredibly remorseful, but is also exercising her legal right to have her responsibility determined by a higher court,” said McIntyre. MacDonald will serve her conditional sentence of two years less a day in Penticton, B.C., where she currently lives. The charge of criminal negligence causing death has no mandatory minimum sentence. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nicole Weisberg
