A young man convicted in the shocking fatal stabbing of a teenager on a Surrey bus three years ago was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday. Kaiden Mintenko, 23, was originally charged with second-degree murder but was found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter last year. With credit for time served, Mintenko will spend another three years and four months in prison. The 17-year-old victim cannot be named due to a court-imposed publication ban. Members of his family and close friends voiced their displeasure as Supreme Court Justice Terry Schultes delivered the sentence, letting out loud groans, with one person calling Mintenko a “d**khead.” Still consumed by anger outside the courthouse, family members declined to speak on camera, but one of the boy’s closest friends voiced their frustrations. “It’s just disgusting how our system has not changed,” said the woman, who CTV News is not naming to protect the victim’s identity. “We can not let people like this out on our streets,” she continued. On April 11, 2023, aboard a bus on King George Boulevard, Mintenko punched the teen in the side of the head six times before stabbing him with a large knife, the court heard during trial. The court heard Mintenko, who police said knew the victim “through a third party,” targeted the boy over false rumours. According to his family, the victim texted his mom to say he felt unsafe shortly before he was stabbed. The friend said that his mother, who was not in court Tuesday, is “barely holding on” following her son’s death. Crown was seeking a sentence of 10 to 12 years, while defence sought six to six and a half years. The court heard that Mintenko was adopted as a baby, and that his biological mother was only 15 years old when she gave birth to him. Schultes also noted that she reportedly used substances during the early part of her pregnancy, and that Mintenko has fetal alcohol syndrome and “cognitive deficits.” According to Schultes, Mintenko’s cognitive limitations reduced his level of moral responsibility to some extent. However, the judge said there was still concern that Mintenko does not fully understand the factors that led to the offence or the importance of taking every possible measure to prevent a similar situation from happening again. The court heard that Mintenko had long suffered from substance abuse issues and was intoxicated by alcohol on the night of the offence. It was revealed during the trial that an emotional Mintenko eventually confessed to police saying: “He wasn’t supposed to die … I didn’t want it at all. I didn’t want to kill him.” Mintenko also said, “I knew I was caught from the start.”
