Youth to be sentenced for Pickering murder on July 15

A 15-year-old boy who pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of an 83-year-old woman in Pickering, Ontario, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15, 2026, with the Crown and defence agreeing the maximum youth sentence is appropriate. The boy, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, apologized in court on July 14 for the unprovoked killing of Eleanor Doney, a retired kindergarten teacher and grandmother, in May 2025.

The sentencing hearing took place in an Oshawa courtroom before Ontario Superior Court Justice Lisa Wannamaker. The boy, who was 14 at the time of the offence, read a prepared statement, expressing deep sorrow and a desire to learn from his actions. He stated he had come to comprehend the seriousness of his actions and the pain they caused.

According to an agreed statement of facts, the attack occurred on May 29, 2025, around 3 p.m. Doney was raking leaves on the front lawn of her Lynn Heights Drive home when the boy approached, engaged her in conversation, and then stabbed her. He chased her as she tried to flee and stabbed her again. The victim sustained eight stab wounds, with a fatal injury severing her carotid artery.