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Teens charged in beating in court
Teens charged in beating in court - The Markham Economist & Sun - September 02, 1999
by Jennifer Brown
Jonathan should be heading to school with his Grade 10 classmates on Tuesday.
Instead, the 15-year-old Newmarket High teen lies in a coma in a Toronto rehabilitation hospital.
Three youths charged with attempted murder in his brutal attack will appear in court Sept. 9 in preparation for what is
expected to be a long preliminary hearing.
It is expected a growing number of people - outraged at the beating that has rocked the upscale community since incident
occurred June 29 - will attend the hearing.
"Quite a few people are telling us they're going - someone even said they're considering having T-shirts made up, and others
are saying they're taking the day off work to go." Lozanne Wamback told the Economist & Sun this week, from the room she and
her husband share with their son at the Bloorview MacMillan Centre.
Wamback said a business colleague of her husband's is even arranging for people to attend the court house.
Anticipating a crowd, police said courthouse security will be in force and a judge could exclude anyone causing a disturbance
from the proceedings.
While the teens, who are free on bail, make their third court appearance, Wamback remains in a coma suffering the effects of
brain injury and central nervous system damage.
The Wambacks said they will avoid the courthouse to be with their son at Bloorview."We don't want to see those boys, " Lozanne
said.
Through a website set up in Jonathan's name and with the help of friends and neighbours, the Wambacks have been circulating a
petition seeking changes to toughen the Young Offender's Act.
And while there are currently 10,000 signatures supporting the cause, parents who have already dealt with similar ordeals, say
a petition may not be enough.
"A main E-mailed us and said his niece was killed by a young offender and he had 20,000 signatures, and there was no effect"
Lozanne said.
While the legal system deals with the teens charged in his beating, Wamback and his parents are struggling to cope with the
damage done to his brain.
"He's becoming more responsive to us; we're able to soothe him more," Wamback said. "The majority of the time he will respond
to us and (he) is smiling more."
On Tuesday, however, the Wambacks were delivered devasting news from their doctor who said Jonathan will remain at Bloorview
for at least another nine to six months.
"We were quite disappointed with that," she said, adding it will be at least a year until nerve pathways from his brain to
motor actions are improved. "He's starting to form pathways but its only just started. The doctors say Jonathan's injuries are
very severe."
Doctors also told the Wambacks they believe the original intelligence Jonathan had won't be affected, but his responsive
skills will.
"It's still very up in the air, they can't be specific at all, but we do think he is waking up from the coma. He may be moving
to another level of consciousness," she said.
Jonathan's body continues to go through a series of painful seizures involving his various muscle groups requiring doctors to
cast his left arm and splint his fingers and foot.
"There are times when his whole body is as still as a board."
As students return to class on Tuesday, Newmarket High school principal Garry Patterson will remind students through a planned
assembly of the board's zero tolerance on violence.
We do it each year, but under the circumstances it will have more importance because of the perceived nature of what happened
over the summer," Patterson said.
"We will be making it very clear to each grade and allow them to ask questions on these kinds of issues."
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