deadmonton 2002 - robert stanley
Robert Stanley, 75, died from blunt trauma caused by a falling rock on June 1, 2002.
One young offender was arrested for manslaughter but the charge was stayed. Police later arrested two young offenders, each charged with manslaughter.
Ongoing developments | latest update.
Robert Stanley was a school bus driver working for Golden Arrow. He joined the company in 2001 after working for Briggs Bus lines. He shuttled kids to Our Lady of the Prairies Elementary School and home again for the last five years. To earn some money on the side, Stanley also did charter work for whoever wanted to hire him.
A few minutes after midnight on June 1st, 2002 Stanley dropped off the last of his charter passengers and headed back to the company garage. He was travelling west in the centre lane of Whitemud Drive at about 12:30 a.m. when someone dropped a boulder off the 113th Street pedestrian bridge.
Three holes had been snipped in the mesh fence enclosing the footbridge, allowing a basketball-sized, 14-kilogram rock to be thrown through. The rock came crashing through the windshield of the bus striking Stanley in the chest. Stanley managed to pull the bus over to the side of the freeway and turn on his hazard lights.
For two-and-a-half hours passersby, including Edmonton police, merely saw an empty, broken down bus on the shoulder of the Whitemud Drive. No one noticed the smashed windshield, or realised Stanley was inside dying.
At about 2:45 a.m., a police officer finally decided to check the bus. Stanley was unconscious and not breathing. The officer performed CPR until paramedics arrived but Stanley was declared dead at the scene.
A witness driving behind Stanley's bus told police the bus was travelling at the 80 km/h speed limit when the driver braked sharply and pulled over to the side of the road. Thinking nothing of the manoeuvre, the driver pulled around the bus and continued on.
An autopsy ruled Stanley died from "blunt force to the abdomen." His death was Edmonton's seventh homicide of 2002.
From the outset police didn't have much to go on. They believed the rock was taken from a nearby yard and it provided no fingerprints.
Over the next few weeks, police received more than 30 tips, most of them from people who saw the parked bus and some from people reporting suspicious activity by youths.
Nearly fourteen months after Stanley's death, police were no closer to solving his murder. On July 24th, 2002 the Edmonton Police Commission offered a $40,000 for information leading to an arrest.
Ongoing Developments
- August 17th, 2005 - teen charged.
- October 12th, 2005 - charge stayed.
- October 17th, 2005 - two other teens charged.
- March 17th, 2006 - one teen pleads guilty.
- May 24th, 2006 - the other pleads not guilty.
- June 13th, 2006 - sentencing arguments for the first teen are heard.
- June 22nd, 2006 - sentencing delayed.
- June 29th, 2006 - first teen sentenced.
For three years the case went unsolved and appeared to be going cold. Unbeknownst to the public, an undercover operation was underway that would lead to some unexpected results.
On August 17th, 2005 police announced they had charged a teen with manslaughter. The teen, who was 16 when Stanley was killed, was charged as a youth and was released on bail after appearing only once in court. Under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the teen could not be identified.
A spokesman said the suspect had been on the police radar for some time. "This was a person that we knew of very early on, as far as the investigation was concerned," he said.
"We dealt with him in terms of interviews early on. Upon receiving more information and as the investigation progressed, we just had to pay more attention to him."
The detective working the case said that his longtime theory that the killing was a prank gone wrong, and not a premeditated act, was reflected in a charge of manslaughter and not first or second-degree murder.
The detective would not comment on the possibility that the suspect was not alone when the rock was dropped.
"What I am telling you is, this is the person we're holding accountable for throwing the rock from the bridge."
A young offender automatically receives an adult sentence for manslaughter, with conviction carrying a maximum life term in prison. But the defence or Crown can also apply for a youth sentence for manslaughter, which is a maximum three years.
The teen did not enter a plea and was set to appear in court again September 7th, 2005. He was released from custody on bail soon after he was charged. He was initially placed under house arrest but the condition was varied so he could keep his job as a labourer.
On October 12th, 2005 Alberta Justice announced that the Crown had stayed manslaughter charges against the young offender charged with Stanley's murder.
A Justice spokesman said "unforeseeable and unexpected evidence had come forward," making the likelihood of a conviction unreasonable and the charge was withdrawn.
When a charge is stayed it can be re-activated within one year with new evidence.
A police homicide detective said their investigations continued after the teen was charged and were still ongoing.
On October 17th, 2005 police announced the arrest of two other teens. Police said additional information came forward after the first teen was arrested.
Investigators said they had arrested the teen who helped throw the rock as well as the friend who allegedly helped carry it to the overpass.
What happened on the footbridge on June 1st, 2002 had remained a secret kept by five teenagers. Their silence ended when someone outside their group was charged with manslaughter.
News of the arrest of the 19-year-old in August caused an unidentified woman to come forward, telling police that she and four others were on the bridge at the time of the incident. Interviews were conducted with all five persons and police we were able to determine which two were responsible.
The two 18-year-old men, unknown to the original suspect and who were 15 at the time, have been charged with one count of manslaughter. They also could not be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
On November 16th, 2005 the two teens made their first appearance in youth court and were each arraigned on a charge of manslaughter.
On March 17th, 2006 one of two youths pleaded guilty to manslaughter. His sentencing has been set for June 13th, 2006 and he could face a three year term. He was ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment before his sentencing date.
The teen's lawyer said he plans to ask for a non-custodial sentence that the teen, who has no criminal record, can serve in the community. The Crown prosecutor said it would likely recommend jail time.
According to agreed facts entered into court, the two accused had been among a group of teens who were at a Grade 9 graduation ceremony at a Catholic junior high school on the night of May 31st, 2002. The two then went to an after-grad party where they split a 26-ounce bottle of booze.
The teen who pleaded guilty and four friends were driven to his parents' south-side home. A plan was devised among the youths to drop something from a nearby overpass on to a large vehicle below, such as a tanker truck or bus.
The two accused stole a large ornamental rock from the back yard of a home a block away. With their three friends along, the pair lugged the rock to the east side of the overpass near 113th Street. The 15-year-old had grabbed wire cutters from his house which he used to cut at least one of three holes in the wire fence covering the top part of the overpass.
The boulder was placed on the ledge of the overpass. It was then pushed over.
When group ran off when they heard a loud bang. The 15-year-old told police he was the last one off the bridge. Turning around, he saw a bus pull over and stop along the side of the freeway. He didn't realise the driver of the bus was hurt.
The youths learned the next day that Robert Stanley had died. The five teens involved then made a pact to never talk about what happened that night on the footbridge.
The other accused, who was also 15 at the time, was slated to appear in court March 24th, 2006.
The other three teens in the overpass incident were not charged.
On May 24th, 2006 the second teen charged with manslaughter in connection with Stanley's death appeared in court.
Unlike his co-accused, the youth pleaded not guilty and elected to proceed to trial.
His next court date was set for November 20th, 2006
On June 13th, 2006 the teen who pleaded guilty to manslaughter appeared in court for sentencing arguments.
The Crown prosecutor asked for a three year term -- two years in confinement and one year under supervision.
The teen's defence lawyer Rick Stroppel called for no jail time, suggesting instead house arrest and the performance of community service.
In a move contrary to recent public sentiment, the lenient suggestion from the teen's lawyer had the backing of the victim's family.
Stanley's family said they do not want to see the teen spend time behind bars.
Speaking to media outside court, they believe he's genuinely remorseful and said if Robert Stanley were alive today, he would want the teenager given another chance.
Wayne Stanley, one of Robert’s sons, said "He's not a bad person ... he's just a stupid kid. And [jail] would wreck him."
Stanley's family met with the accused for seven hours under the auspices of the Alberta Conflict Transformation Society.
Under the service, families of victims meet the accused in Community Conferencing and Restorative Justice workshops.
Speaking in court, the teen apologised to the Stanley family and explained his delay in coming forward.
"I didn't want to keep the secret, but I didn't have the courage. I was too much of a coward. It was stupid -- I wasn't man enough. I feel so bad for what I have done. I made all your lives a living hell."
"I'm just so sorry for eveything that I've caused ... I've messed up so much."
Stanley's family said they do not want to share the same process with the other teen charged with Robert's murder, citing that youth's decision to proceed to trial (the case will be heard November 20th, 2006).
The judge in the first teen's case reserved a decision until June 22nd, 2006. The teen will be sentenced as a youth and his name cannot be published because of his age at the time of the offence.
On June 23rd, 2006 provincial youth court Judge Danielle Dalton delayed her scheduled sentencing decision.
Robert Stanley's death in 2002 came when the Young Offenders Act was in effect. The following year the law was replaced by the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Dalton told the court she wasn’t prepared to sentence the 19-year-old due to confusion over which applicable law related to whether the teen could receive a non-jail punishment. At issue are transitional provisions bridging the two pieces of legislation.
Defence lawyer Rick Stroppel explained outside court, “The judge just wants to be absolutely sure she understands what the law is. The law is complicated.”
Dalton thought she was sentencing the teen under the current Criminal Justice Act rather than the Young Offenders Act.
After a discussion with both lawyers involved, the issues were resolved but Dalton said she needed additional time to complete her decision.
The case was adjourned for a week.
On June 29th, 2006 provincial youth court Judge Danielle Dalton sentenced the teen, calling his act "adolescent stupidity at its zenith."
Dalton said the prank which led to Stanley's death “was not a spontaneous act, but a deliberate, premeditated undertaking.” The judge accepted that the intent was “to do vandalism” and not to hurt anyone.
“It is perhaps the hallmark of this case that adolescent stupidity at its zenith, and not malevolence, caused the death of Robert Stanley,” she said.
The 19-year-old was sentenced to six months deferred custody followed by six month’s probation. He will serve house arrest and will then have to perform 240 hours of community service.
The youth will also have to write a public letter of apology to be made available to the media.
The Stanley family asked that the teen to do work with kids. Robert Stanley kept driving the bus after retirement because he liked working with children.