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Wamback not questioned
Wamback not questioned - POLICE: Trio faces attempted murder charges- The Markham Economist & Sun - Tuesday, October 7,
1999
by Jennifer Brown and Rick Vanderlinde - Staff Writers
Although beating victim Jonathan Wamback has come out of his three-month coma, he isn't ready to be interviewed by police.
However, Det.-Sgt. Chris Barratt of York Regional Police said the 15-year-old Newmarket boy will likely be questioned at some
time.
Wamback has spoken with family and friends since he emerged from his coma about two weeks ago.
But investigators are waiting for further medical progress before they ask Womback for his version of the June 28 attack that
caused his brain stem injury.
"He's not really ready for a police interview yet," Barratt said. "But if his progress continues, it's a real possibility that
we will (question him)."
Barratt added that the teen's "cognitive" abilities don't appear to be sharp enough at this point to assist police.
"I'm no doctor, but that's my belief right now," he said.
While Wamback continues his rehabilitation in hospital, three teens charged with attempting to kill him are out on bail while
they await trial.
Lawyers handling the case are expected to meet in judge's chambers tomorrow following a brief court appearance by the three
youths.
The actual court appearance is expected to be uneventful.
But defense lawyer Stephen Brown predicts one of the issues that will be raised in judge's chambers is whether the attempted
murder charges should be reduced to a lesser charge of aggravated assault.
"I don't think the facts in the case would support the charge originally laid," Brown said.
" I would have hoped they would have laid the right charge in the first place. I don't think they did."
To support an attempted murder charge, police and the Crown attorney must prove Wamback's assailants wanted him dead.
Legal sources say that may be difficult, since Wamback was able to walk home following the attack.
[Site note: If I shoot someone with a gun and he/she walks home but dies later, does that mean that the person who
shot them didn't want them dead? If I kick someone viciously in the head while he/she is lying helplessly on the ground but
he/she manages to walk home before collapsing and almost dying several times on the operating table that same night, does
that mean that I didn't want the victim to die? I don't think the intent is proved by whether or not the victim walks home.
]
He collapsed in a coma inside his parents' Stonehaven-area home after two friends came over to see him.
It is up to the Crown attorney's office to reduce criminal charges if prosecutors feel that the facts don't support a charge
originally laid by the police.
Assistant Crown attorney Mary Lou Dickie would neither "confirm or deny" suggestions that the attempted murder charges would
be reduced.
Dickie wouldn't comment further, other than to say she still had "other areas to explore."
"This is a touchy issue," she said. " I can't really comment."
Brown said that if the prosecution is considering a lesser charge, it should be done quickly.
The pivotal issue of whether the case is heard in adult or youth court depends on the severity of the charge.
Under an attempted murder charge, the defense must show why the accused should not be tried in adult court.
If the charge is reduced to aggravated assault, the onus switches to the Crown attorney to prove the case should be heard in
adult court rather than in youth court.
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