Father speaks at Edmonton sentencing hearing after 11-year-old boy killed by dogs

EDMONTON – The father of an 11-year-old boy killed by two large dogs said he is in a constant state of grief, but urged the court not to send the animals’ owner to prison.

Wesley Grist made the comments Wednesday at a sentencing hearing in Edmonton for Crystal MacDonald.

MacDonald was found guilty in May of criminal negligence causing death after her two Cane Corsos killed Kache Grist at her home in April 2024.

Court heard the dogs, named Khaos and Kairo, killed Kache when he was in Edmonton visiting his father for spring break. MacDonald and Wesley Grist were roommates at the time. The boy had been living with his mother in Osoyoos, B.C., since November 2023.

“Every morning I wake up remembering he is gone,” Grist said in his victim impact statement, which he read to the court by video from Yukon.

“Kache was the most important person in my life — he was my son, my best friend and a huge part of my identity.”

Grist said he never wanted revenge for Kache’s death and MacDonald will also carry the weight of the boy’s death.

“The court has legal responsibilities and sentencing considerations they must follow, and I respect that,” he said.

“I also feel compelled to express honestly that I do not personally believe additional suffering, incarceration or destruction will heal what has already happened.”

During MacDonald’s trial, Grist testified that he was in the garage when his son was killed. He had allowed Kache to go inside to play with a new video game while he finished cleaning up tools.

About 45 minutes later, Grist found his son lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor with the dogs surrounding him.

An autopsy found the child died from bite injuries to the neck. The dogs were later euthanized.

MacDonald testified that she repeatedly told Grist not to leave his son alone with the dogs.

Court heard that before Kache’s death, the dogs had killed two pets and injured three adults, including MacDonald.

In convicting MacDonald in May, Alberta Court of King’s Bench Justice Eric Macklin said the 46-year-old showed a “wanton and reckless” disregard for Kache’s life and safety.

The judge found that telling the boy’s father not to leave him alone with the dogs wasn’t enough.

In court Wednesday, MacDonald said she thinks about Kache every single day.

“I don’t know how to explain what it feels like to be standing here because of the death of a child that I love,” she said.

“There is no sentence that this court could impose on me that could make me feel the weight of this loss more than I already do.”

Kache’s mother, Kendrah Wong, submitted a victim impact statement to the court but requested it not be read out.

The Crown is seeking a five-year prison sentence and a lifetime ban on dog ownership. The defence is seeking a conditional sentence of two years less a day.

Crown prosecutor Anders Quist said the judge must consider the previous dog attacks as well as horror of Kache’s final moments.

“There are many ways a human life can be ended,” he said. “Being bitten to death by two large dogs is on the more terrifying end of the spectrum.”

Defence lawyer Evan McIntyre said a conditional sentence would adequately denounce MacDonald’s crime and deter similar negligence.

He said his client took steps to protect Kache after the earlier attacks and didn’t just “put her head in the sand.”

McIntyre also disputed the Crown’s suggestion that because MacDonald is appealing her conviction, she does not feel true remorse for Kache’s death.

Macklin is to deliver the sentence Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2026.