An Ontario judge has sentenced the teenager who admitted to murdering a random Pickering woman in an attempt to emulate a fictional serial killer to just five more years in a youth facility, after granting him credit for the 13 months he has already spent in pre-trial custody.

Justice Lisa Wannamaker ruled that the boy, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, will receive credit for the time already served while awaiting trial. He will now spend five additional years in custody, followed by four years under community supervision.

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The victim, 60-year-old Eleanor Doney, was walking near her home in Pickering in January 2025 when she was randomly attacked and stabbed to death. Court heard the then-14-year-old killer deliberately sought out a stranger to murder after becoming obsessed with fictional serial killers, including the television character Dexter Morgan.

According to evidence presented in court, the teen told police he wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone and chose Doney simply because she happened to cross his path.

Justice Wannamaker sentenced the youth under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which places greater emphasis on rehabilitation than adult sentencing. Although credit for pre-trial custody is routine in adult criminal cases, it is discretionary under the YCJA. Wannamaker exercised that discretion by reducing the remaining custodial portion of the sentence to account for the 13 months already spent behind bars.

The Crown had sought an intensive rehabilitative sentence, while the defence argued the teen suffered from significant mental health issues that contributed to the killing.

Because of the offender's age, the court imposed a youth sentence rather than an adult sentence, meaning his identity remains protected by law.