Manslaughter plea entered in fatal stabbing of 15-year-old Broden Radomske

Keith Landry has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of 15-year-old Broden Radomske. CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson reports from court.

WARNING: This article contains details that may be upsetting to some readers.

The man charged with killing a teenage boy who was walking with his mother and his dog has entered a guilty plea.

Keith James Landry, 42, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Broden Radomske, 15.

He was scheduled for a two-week trial starting Monday, instead he opted to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Agreed statement of facts

According to the agreed statement of facts, Radomske was walking with his mother and 12-year-old brother, as well as Landry and two friends, at a green space in the area of 137 Avenue and 184 Street on May 21, 2024.

According to the court documents, Landry pulled a folding knife out of his pocket at 9:17 p.m. and ran up behind Radomske and slashed his throat.

The teen fell to the ground and died from blood loss within minutes.

Officers found Landry unresponsive and smelling of alcohol in a vehicle and attempted to arrest him.

They dragged him out of the vehicle, and after he punched a police officer, he went limp and unresponsive, according to the agreed statement of facts.

Landry was taken to hospital where he was given Naloxone and a sample of his blood was taken.

The court documents note he had urinated on himself.

He was discharged from hospital the following morning and taken into custody.

When he was placed in the phone room to call a lawyer, he lay on the floor and made no attempts to use the phone.

A toxicology report found Landry’s blood contained alcohol, methamphetamine and cocaine.

A glass pipe with white residue and a nearly empty bottle of Smirnoff was located in the vehicle where Landry had been found.

The same day Landry was discharged from hospital, one of the friends who had been with him at the scene participated in a recorded interview with police.

She told police that Landry had been up all night drinking vodka and smoking crack on the night of May 20.

She said she found Landry in a bathtub on May 21 and worried that he was suicidal, so she convinced him to come on a dog walk to distract him.

On the way to the dog walk she says they stopped at a gas station and Landry bought himself Smirnoff from a liquor store.

They had almost finished their walk when Radomske and his brother started horsing around and she heard Landry say, “Hey.”

Then she saw Radomske fall.

She said she saw Landry crouching over Radomske, but she thought he was helping the teen and his mother.

The second person who was with Landry was also interviewed by police on May 22.

He said he saw Landry drinking from the Smirnoff bottle during the walk but didn’t think Landry was intoxicated.

He said he saw the Radomske brothers tussling and heard Landry say, “Hey, don’t do that,” and then he saw Landry take a knife out of his pocket and make a stabbing motion at Radomske’s neck.

He said he confronted Landry and said, “I saw what you did, I saw you have a knife. Give me the knife.”

“You slit that boy’s throat and he’s not doing well.”

He said Landry replied, “I don’t like blood. I would not do that.”

He said he took the knife from Landry, who did not seem to remember what had just happened.

He said Landry got in his vehicle and tried to get him to drive away, but he said he refused to leave the scene.

He also denied using drugs, owning a crack pipe, or having any drug paraphernalia inside his vehicle.

Radomske’s mother also took part in a recorded interview with police on May 22.

She told them she was walking with her sons as well as Landry and his friends, and while Landry was drinking, he appeared to be normal and coherent until he stabbed her son and passed out in a vehicle.

According to the agreed statement of facts, she reported that as her son was dying he said, “Mom, Keith stabbed me.”

Reaction

After court wrapped up on Monday morning, Radomske’s mother spoke to reporters.

“I have no compassion for him,” she said. “My son is gone, and he’s sentenced me to a life of agony.”

She described Broden as someone who made life fun and exciting, and said that her younger son, who was present for the attack, is doing well given the circumstances.

“He’s doing well in school. He’s about to go into high school and he’s just sad without his brother.”

Landry is scheduled to be sentenced next week.

Radomske’s family will also have the opportunity to present victim impact statements.

The Crown and defence are expected to put forth a joint submission for sentencing.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson