Two youths who plead guilty to second degree murder were given the maximum youth sentence in Yorkton Provincial Court on February 21.
The two youths, who cannot be named due to being under 18 at the time of the crime, were guilty of the murder of Lawrence Skoretz, 67, who was found on Wellington Road near his home on September 13, 2016. The court heard that the youths were at Wiggly Field Dog Park, drinking and smoking marijuana, when Skoretz arrived at the park. The two youths beat the man, including stomping on his body and head, and stole items, including his wallet, glasses, and choir books, before leaving. He was found to have blunt force trauma to the chest and brain, and died of excessive blood loss.
The sentence was a total of seven years in the intense rehabilitation program, including four years of custody. They were also subject to a DNA order and a 10 year weapons prohibition. One of the two also received two months in custody on a different charge, to be served concurrently.
In accepting the joint submission, Judge Patrick Koskie emphasized to the court that the joint submission reflected the nature of the charge and the age of the individuals. He also expressed hope that both the families of the victim and the accused could move on. Both of the guilty parties apologized in court.
Family members of the victim filled the court room, and several read out the victim impact statements, outlining in detail how the death of Skoretz has changed their lives, including needing therapy, time off work, becoming afraid to leave their homes at night and becoming afraid of groups of young people. The Skoretz family has appeared in court through the entirety of the case.
The Skoretz family released a statement following the sentence:
“The only positive thing that came out of today is that the court proceedings are finally over, we can finally attempt to start the healing process.
“We, as a family, feel that justice was not served. We all firmly believe that these two deserved to be sentenced as adults so their names could be released all over the media. Today all that was heard was their side of the story, unfortunately we will never get to hear Lawrence’s side of what happened that night. They, of course, want to justify their brutal, violent actions by what we believe was a fabricated story they created.
“The fact is that they viciously murdered an innocent senior citizen for no reason. It is so scary that in our community that a person who went innocently to their neighbourhood park was ruthlessly murdered. How any human being could do this is unfathomable, they deserve a life behind bars.
“Lawrence was an outstanding citizen, a true contributor to the community, and his legacy should be the wonderful life that he lived. I know that the community will remember him for who he was and what he did, because his family stands together and always will. We miss him every day.
“In these seven years, the boys will be free, and we don’t think they understand the catastrophe they created for so many of us. We are still without our husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. Justice was not served.”
