Alberta judge recommends improved information sharing after caseworker stabbing death
CALGARY - An Alberta judge says sharing care-home clients’ violent histories should be mandatory by legislation following a fatality inquiry into a woman’s stabbing death at the hands of a teenager who had a history of violent incidents.
CALGARY - An Alberta judge says sharing care-home clients’ violent histories should be mandatory by legislation following a fatality inquiry into a woman’s stabbing death at the hands of a teenager who had a history of violent incidents.
Provincial court Judge Karim Zaher Jivraj says in the report that the full extent of Brandon Newman’s violent history was not shared between agencies when he was transferred to the assisted-living facility where he killed Deborah Onwu in 2019.
Newman pleaded guilty in 2021 to second-degree murder for fatally stabbing Onwu 19 times, resulting in a life sentence with no chance of parole for 14 years.
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The fatality inquiry into Onwu’s death says Newman, 18 at the time of the stabbing, had an “extensive history of violence dating back to his early years” when he was transferred to the assisted-living facility in Calgary, but the full extent of his history wasn’t shared with the facility.
Jivraj recommends Alberta should revise legislation to make it mandatory for agencies transferring youth or young adults with violent histories to share that critical information with agencies they’re working with.
Three other recommendations have been sent to three Alberta ministries with requests that they be implemented.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2025.
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