A 12-year-old Lethbridge, Alta., boy who “had been researching murder on YouTube” before he stabbed his seven-year-old brother nine times, pleaded guilty to attempted murder Wednesday afternoon.
A publication ban under the Youth Criminal Justice Act means neither of the brothers can be identified.
On Wednesday, the older brother pleaded guilty before Youth Court Justice Ryan Anderson in Lethbridge court. The 12-year-old, who appeared via video link, sobbed as the prosecution read aloud an agreed statement of facts.
Court heard that on Aug. 27, 2025, the two boys were home alone while their father was at a store.
The older brother “became enraged” with his younger brother “and had an urge to cause his brother harm,” according to the agreed statement of facts.
The seven-year-old ran to a bedroom and hid on the bed under some blankets.
Meanwhile, the 12-year-old grabbed a knife from the kitchen, then followed the younger boy into the bedroom, where he “blindly stabbed [him] approximately nine times while his brother cried out in pain.”
The older boy then exited the house and waited outside.
When his father returned from the store, he told him that his brother “was dead inside the house,” according to the facts.
The victim was airlifted to the children’s hospital in Edmonton.
He suffered injuries to his face, hand, arm and back. Three of the wounds — to his brain, heart and chest — were considered major, life-threatening injuries.
In an interview with police, the older brother said he had gotten an “urge that he could not control related to voices he hears from time to time.”
Police also determined that he’d been “researching murder on YouTube prior to the attack,” according to the statement of facts.
The boy will ultimately be subject to an Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision order, which is for young offenders with significant mental health issues. That means he will receive treatment along with a custody and supervision requirement.
Details of the order will be presented at a sentencing hearing set to take place in February.
