The family of Burnaby teen Luka Gordic openly wept today (Jan. 11) as a man who was found guilty of second-degree murder was sentenced as an adult and given life in prison.
The man was convicted last year, but the big question was if he would be sentenced as an adult since he 17 years old at the time of the murder, although only three weeks away from turning 18.
A publication ban was immediately placed on the convicted man’s name by B.C. Supreme Court Judge Terence Schultes.
Gordic, a Burnaby Central Secondary grad, was 19 when he was attacked by a group of youths in Whistler on May 17, 2015. He was stabbed three times, once in the heart.
Arvin Golic, who was 18 at the time and has already been sentenced for his role in the killing, instigated the attack over a petty dispute between the two young men.
Today in court, two other youths who had been convicted of manslaughter in Gordic’s death were sentenced as youths and handed sentences of 18 months in jail and an 18-month supervision order.
The sentencing process has been a painful one for the family due to numerous delays.
There was a heavy police presence in front of the courthouse in Vancouver because of the tense history between Gordic’s family and the families of the three convicted males who were sentenced today.
