Leduc man guilty of 2nd-degree murder in classroom stabbing of teen girl

July 26, 2024 Canuck

WARNING: This story contains graphic details of violence.

Dylan Pountney fled from his social studies classroom on the morning of March 15, 2021, taking off down the hallway and running out the school doors.

He left behind a teacher and classmates in a state of shock after watching him attack 17-year-old Jennifer Winkler, suddenly stabbing her while she sat at her desk.

Less than 10 seconds passed from the time Pountney entered the classroom at Christ the King School in Leduc, Alta., to when he left Winkler collapsed on the floor, bleeding from five stab wounds. Despite the efforts of paramedics and a medical team that airlifted her to an Edmonton hospital, Winkler died.

Pountney, now 22, was 19 at the time, and was charged with first-degree murder.

After a two-week trial in the Wetaskiwin Court of King’s Bench, Justice Eric Macklin instead convicted Pountney of second-degree murder on Friday. Macklin said the Crown failed to prove the killing was both planned and deliberate — necessary elements for a finding of first-degree murder.

WATCH | Leduc students, residents react to fatal stabbing of teen girl at school:

Leduc students, residents react to fatal stabbing of teen girl at school

3 years ago

Duration 1:23

“You see your school on the news”: Leduc students and citizens recall the chain of events on Monday when a 17-year-old girl was fatally stabbed at school.

“While Mr. Pountney may have thought of causing harm to Ms. Winkler a few days prior … there is simply no evidence to suggest he formulated any scheme or design before committing a murder.”

Macklin said the fact that Pountney was found to be in a state of psychosis — at the time of the killing and during his statements to police after his arrest — adds to reasonable doubt about his ability to deliberate.

“While Mr. Pountney may have given some advance thought to the consequences of his actions, his behaviour is consistent with acting on the spur of the moment.”

A first-degree murder conviction would have meant an automatic life sentence and no eligibility for parole for 25 years.

Second-degree murder also means a life sentence, but the parole ineligibility period can be set between 10 to 25 years. The court will hear sentencing submissions on Sept. 5.

Pountney admitted to killing

Pountney’s trial included testimony from his grandmother, emergency responders involved in the case and witnesses to the stabbing.

Some of the evidence, including a recording of Pountney’s interview with an RCMP investigator and testimony from a forensic psychologist, was subject to a voir dire — a special hearing to determine whether it should be admissible.

Macklin ultimately ruled all of it admissible, making it part of what he considered in his decision.

Pountney admitted during his RCMP interview that he stabbed the Winkler, telling the officer, “I murdered somebody in front of a bunch of kids,” according to part of a transcript read in court.

Crown prosecutor Jeff Rudiak noted in his closing submissions this week that the officer interviewing Pountney asked whether it was fair to say he knew what he was doing would kill Winkler, and that was his intention. Pountney said yes.

“The statement is replete with examples that he knew, he understood the consequences of his actions,” Rudiak said.

“Mr. Pountney says, ‘She was just a little innocent kid. I obviously regret what I’ve done, but I feel like I had to do it.'”

Forensic psychologist Marc Nesca assessed Pountney and determined he was experiencing psychosis, and that became a “seed bed” for his actions, with “delusional grievances” growing from it and fuelling his decisions.

But Nesca said Pountney showed an ability to understand what he was doing, and the fact that it was wrong. He also said Pountney displayed some evidence of exaggerating his symptoms, as well as malingering — intentionally fabricating a mental illness.

Judge left with reasonable doubt about plan to murder

Pountney made some bizarre statements while he was in police custody, telling an officer he wanted “a single grain of rice with no salt or sugar” after being asked if he wanted anything to eat, and speaking about being influenced by “a blood cult kind of thing on YouTube.”

He also talked about wanting to take hostages and burn money outside his school, and spoke of what Macklin deemed an obsession with seeking revenge against Winkler’s father over perceived harms.

Defence lawyer Derek Anderson suggested that there were times during Pountney’s statement to RCMP that he was being led, or adopting a position being put to him by the officer.

Anderson argued Pountney should be found guilty of manslaughter, because his ability to form the intent to commit murder would have been impaired by his state of psychosis.

Police vehicles are lined up outside a brown building with a sign that says "Christ the King High School." — RCMP vehicles swarmed Christ the King School in Leduc Monday after Winkler was fatally stabbed in a classroom on March 15, 2021. (Scott Neufeld/CBC)

Macklin rejected that submission, finding that Pountney told police he wanted to “inflict pain” on Winkler, and knew what he was doing when he stabbed her.

Rudiak said Pountney’s statements about how he thought about killing Winkler days before the stabbing, and the fact that he brought a butcher knife to school to carry out his plan, are evidence of a planned and deliberate first-degree murder.

“The plan can be simple. This isn’t a complicated thing. For whatever reason, the accused wanted to kill [Winkler]. He was thinking about it since Thursday, so he planned to kill. He took a knife to school — he killed.”

But Macklin said he didn’t see adequate evidence on those points, leaving him with reasonable doubt.

Even though Pountney purposely brought a knife to school that day, “it does not suggest a plan or a formulated plan to harm Ms. Winkler. It may have been for another purpose, such as his stated desire to take hostages,” Macklin said.

“The insufficient evidence of planning and deliberation is compounded by the fact that Mr. Pountney had a mental disorder, and suffered from psychosis. I am satisfied it may have impacted on the elements of planning and deliberation.”

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