Teen who killed random woman to be like fictional serial killer gets five years in youth facility

Unusual images of the 14-year-old killer were captured on a neighbour's security video before and after the stabbing of Eleanor Doney and provided to National Post. Photo by Courtesy of John Meloche

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A teenager who stabbed a retired kindergarten teacher to death at random as she raked leaves in her yard in an Ontario suburb said he was determined to kill someone that day “to escape his old life” and to assume an alter ego based on a fictional serial killer, court heard.

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The boy, 14 years old at the time of the murder in Pickering, east of Toronto, told psychiatrists after his arrest that when he was suspended from school for carrying a knife he made up his mind to kill, like the serial killers he was obsessed with, it was revealed in court Wednesday when the teen was sentenced for first-degree murder.

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The boy said he wanted to be like Yoshikage Kira, a character in a best-selling Japanese manga graphic novel and anime cartoon who is portrayed as a meticulous killer trying to live quietly as a businessman despite periodically murdering women.

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On Wednesday, Justice Lisa Wannamaker ruled that the killer should be given credit for the 13 months he has already spent in custody awaiting trial. While credit for pre-trial custody is routinely given in adult sentencing, in cases held under the Youth Criminal Justice Act credit is discretionary.

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Wannamaker’s ruling means the boy will serve five more years in custody, instead of six, before being released under supervision in the community for another four years, before completing his sentencing.

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Because of his young age, the identity of the killer is protected by law and cannot be published. In April, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

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Eleanor Doney was gardening outside her home in Pickering, just east of Toronto, on May 29, 2025, when she was attacked by a 14-year-old boy dressed in a black shiny trench coat, a black mask, black gloves, overly large dress shoes and carrying a briefcase.

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Eleanor Doney is pictured with her husband, Bruce, in this undated Facebook photo. Photo by FACEBOOK

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Court heard the get-up he wore was his usual form of dress — a black suit, black trench coat, and a briefcase every day since he was about 10 years old — and was a look he based on two fictional serial killers he admired: Kira, the anime killer, and Patrick Bateman, from the novel and movie American Psycho. Both characters are successful and materialistic businessmen leading a secret second life as a killer.

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His interest in looking and acting like the murdering characters extended to talking like them and telling psychologists he wanted to be an accountant “because he wanted to wear a suit and count money.”

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The boy said he stumbled upon Doney while out walking about to find a victim.

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He told psychologists before his sentencing hearing that he walked past her but then returned because he did not see anyone else and decided she would be his victim. He said he remembers killing her but nothing else, including how many times he stabbed her. He said he felt calm and collected at the time and was not afraid.

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“After killing her, he said his violent thoughts went away and he stopped thinking about them,” Wannamaker said in her sentencing decision that summarized her reasons.