The Tragic Death of Carter Spivak-Villeneuve:

A Calgary Community in Mourning

On the morning of August 1, 2025, the Abbeydale neighbourhood in northeast Calgary woke to devastating news: 16-year-old Carter Spivak-Villeneuve had been killed in a local park and sports field. What police have described as a targeted attack—rooted in an “ongoing dispute” among a small group of youths—ended a young life far too soon and left an entire city grappling with grief.

Carter was a typical teenager: he loved hockey, had a wide circle of friends, and was remembered by those who knew him as kind-hearted and full of potential. A makeshift memorial quickly grew at the scene—flowers, hockey sticks, jerseys, and handwritten notes from classmates and strangers alike. Hundreds attended a candlelight vigil in the days that followed, a quiet testament to how deeply his loss was felt.

Calgary Police moved swiftly. Within weeks, investigators identified suspects, all youths themselves:

Three 15-year-old boys were arrested and charged with first-degree murder (one on Muskowekwan First Nation in Saskatchewan with RCMP assistance, the others in Calgary).

On November 19, 2025, a fourth youth, a 16-year-old boy, was taken into custody and also charged with first-degree murder.

Police have stressed that this was not a random act and that they are not seeking any additional suspects. The four accused are currently in custody, and the case is proceeding under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which protects their identities.

Staff Sgt. Sean Gregson of the Calgary Police Homicide Unit spoke solemnly about the case: “The fact that a 16-year-old lost his life, and the individuals believed responsible are themselves youths, is deeply troubling. Disputes that may seem insignificant can escalate quickly and tragically.”

Notably, investigators have not linked this homicide to firearms. In a year when many Canadian cities (including Calgary) have actually seen a decline in gun-related violence among youth—gang shootings in Western Canada are down significantly from 2023–2024 peaks—this incident stands apart as a knife-involved tragedy born out of a personal conflict rather than organized crime or broader turf wars.

For the Spivak-Villeneuve family, the pain is immeasurable. Carter’s mother has spoken publicly about wanting her son to be remembered for the light he brought into the world, not the violent way he left it. Community members have rallied with fundraisers for the family and calls for more youth supports—counselling, mentorship, and safe spaces—so that other families might be spared similar heartbreak.

This is, at its core, a story of profound individual loss rather than a symptom of some wider wave. It’s a reminder of how fragile life can be, even in a city and a country where serious youth violence, particularly involving guns, has been trending downward. Abbeydale and Calgary are mourning one of their own, and the hope now is that justice, healing, and prevention efforts can honour Carter’s memory.

Written by Grok 4.1 by xAI / Produced and Presented by Mack McColl

Criminal justice elusive in society

When a Killer Walks Free, the Crime Doesn’t End

McColl Magazine Public Safety | November 13, 2025

It’s the system telling certain families their dead don’t matter as much.

Trial of Jeremy Steinke

Originally published  Nov 20, 2008 

The alleged accomplice of Canada's youngest multiple murderer (whose identity is protected by the Youth Offenders Act) is on trial in the last quarter of 2008. Jeremy Steinke's trial got underway in Calgary, Alberta, in the third week of November and was expected to last three weeks. Last year in Medicine Hat, Alberta the girl was tried, convicted, and sentenced to between six and ten years in a psychiatric facility. Now the Crown is proceeding against Jeremy Steinke, 25 (23 at the time of the murders)

Women of diverse ages and backgrounds meet death and danger in Vancouver area parks

The past couple years have borne witness to a lack of safety for women in Vancouver-area parks, awareness of which was raised to frightful new heights in late September 2010 with the murder of 15-year-old Laura Szendrei. She was a Grade 10 student at Burnsview Secondary School in Delta, B.C., who died in hospital early Sunday morning, September 26, 2010, succumbing to injuries from a severe blow to the head.

The lethal attack took place only a few hours earlier, on Saturday, September 25 in a park next to the school she attended in North Delta. The attack which became fatal occurred in broad daylight at 1:30 p.m. while she was walking through the woods on the way to meet friends. Szendrei's friends were near the park and heard two loud cries for help and ran in that direction, arriving seconds after the attack to find her laying on the ground.

Delta Police Force told media they are looking for a 'person-of-interest', and said, "As a result of initial investigative efforts Delta Police are looking to speak to a person who may have information that may further our investigation." The person of interest was described as a young male seen leaving the park at about the same time as the attack, walking swiftly while preoccupied with a cell-phone. "Is he a suspect? No," said a police spokesperson, "We're not certain if there's information this individual may have that could further our investigation, but that's something we want to appeal to the public."

Wendy Ladner-Beaudry was an avid jogger, a mother of two young daughters, who entered Pacific Spirit Regional Park (adjacent the UBC campus) where she was attacked and murdered April 3, 2009, and the body was discovered by a hiker the same afternoon. Ladner-Beaudry was co-chair of the BC Games Society and was well-known as an avid promoter of sport and fitness for women in the province, and she was the sister of former Vancouver councilor and mayoral candidate Peter Ladner.

Her husband Michel Beaudry said in the days after the murder, "She was a loving wife, a dedicated mother, a consummate professional and a source of joy, love, and inspiration to everyone she met,." The murder of Ladner-Beaudry remains unsolved while she was posthumously inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame this year.

This unsolved murder was preceded by another earlier in the spring of 2009, when a 43-year-old woman named Tammi-Lynn Louise Cordone was found in West Vancouver's Lighthouse Park. Her body was found lying near a tent that was set-up close to Juniper Point. Cordone had apparently been living as an itinerant in Lighthouse Park, a 74-hectare park off Marine Drive where camping was not permitted. Initially investigators treated Cordone's death as 'suspicious', then the investigation turned to homicide.

A relative of Cordone from Thunder Bay, Ontario, where Cordone was from, said the family received few details about the attack, and told the Vancouver media, "All we know about what happened was she was a good kid." This investigation is being handled by both West Vancouver and Vancouver police departments because the West Vancouver Police Department does not have its own homicide unit. This murder also remains unsolved.

About a year ago, Oct. 19, 2009 9:20 AM Vancouver police issued a public warning after a local woman was violently sexually assaulted while walking through a west side park not far from the Pacific Spirit Regional Park. Reports said she was attacked in Hastings Mill Park, located next to the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club on Point Grey Road.

"He repeatedly punched her, multiple times in the head and face, then dragged her towards the centre of the park," said Cst. Jana McGuinness. The woman was able to fend off her attacker after a violent struggle during which the assailant began a sexual assault on the victim. The attacker left the scene, and police reported the victim sustained "significant" facial injuries and bruises.

"Obviously this is a violent and traumatic event," said Cst. McGuinness. "There will be an emotional toll -- no doubt for many weeks, and potentially even longer." Police said the suspect was described as 5-5 to 5-8 tall, medium-skinned with a medium build, and, "speaking in a distinctly British accent." He wore a hooded sweatshirt and jeans, had a handkerchief over his face. Police discussed a possible connection to the murder of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry in April the same year because the park on Point Grey Road lies in relatively proximity to Pacific Spirit Regional Park.

Cst. McGuinness said the public must exercise caution in these relatively benign circumstances, and she listed a few safety suggestions, including: walk with a partner, carry a cell phone, stick to well-lit routes, and let someone know where you are. "These are just minor steps, but they can be really helpful in dissuading a serious attack," she said.