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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Adult sentence sought for teen axe murderer

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 10/23/2012 1:00 AM

Gerald Crayford (FACEBOOK PHOTO )

Manitoba justice officials are seeking an adult sentence for a 16-year-old boy who admits to killing a pizza restaurant employee with an axe during an armed robbery.

The teen -- who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act -- pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder. He is set to be sentenced in January and remains in custody.

As a youth, he would face a maximum penalty of four years behind bars. If raised to adult court, he would receive a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for at least seven years.

The brutality of the deadly May 2011 attack inside a Pizza Hotline restaurant left even veteran police and justice officials shaking their heads in disgust. Sources told the Free Press the 54-year-old victim, Gerald Crayford, put up no resistance during the incident at 1100 Concordia Ave.

"This was seriously... beyond words in terms of the seriousness of the incident," Winnipeg Police Service Const. Natalie Aitken said at the time. She described what happened to Crayford as "more than concerning."

Police also arrested an adult co-accused who remains before the courts and is presumed innocent. Byron Bushie, 19, is also charged with second-degree murder.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 23, 2012 B2

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