Accused in Carson Crimeni death pleads guilty to manslaughter

Nearly four years after the high-profile death of Langley teen Carson Crimeni, the BC Prosecution Service has confirmed the person accused in the case has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The agency says the individual will be sentenced as a young offender under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Though the accused is now in his 20s, he was a minor at the time of the 14-year-old’s death and, as such, cannot be named.

Carson died on Aug. 7, 2019, after an apparent overdose at the Walnut Grove skate park. He was with a group of older teens at the time.

Instead of calling 911, many filmed the boy’s final moments and shared them on social media.

“I think he was just trying to fit in, trying to make friends. They took advantage of him. He was easy to take advantage of, and they did it,” Carson’s grandfather, Darrell, told CityNews the day after the guilty plea. “He called them his friends — they weren’t his friends.”

The teen was found by paramedics and police “in serious medical distress” and was taken to hospital, where he died.

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A charge of manslaughter was laid in September 2021. Investigators said at the time the accused, who was then 20, surrendered himself to police.

“I see a lot of cases involving violence where the young people who are involved are filming it and then it gets distributed pretty widely. That seems to be something that is unfortunately pretty common and exacerbated the impact on the victims,” Trevor Martin, a criminal defence lawyer, explained.

Darrell says the loss continues to affect Carson’s family — even four years later.

“It’s been emotional, very emotional. You go through everything from anger, to guilt, to depression … all of those things. I think the way he died was depressing,” Darrell said.

“His dad’s been struggling. My oldest daughter missed him. It takes time – it’s going to take time.”

Darrell tells CityNews he’s relieved there won’t be a trial, adding the family has been through enough. Darrell notes Carson had turned 14 only about a month before he died.

“Hopefully this will stop it from happening again — and I know it won’t, it probably won’t, but we try, right? If it slows it down, great. If it saves one or two children, great. I hope it does,” Darrell explained.

“For me, it’s a relief… The time as far as sentencing doesn’t make a big, big difference to me, whether it’s, you know, 10 months to 20 months. I mean, what was important to me was guilty … You know, the charge of manslaughter is actually a more serious charge than I thought they were going to charge him with, so I’m quite pleased with the charge.”

The case led to dozens of tips and more than 100 witnesses were interviewed.

Later that year, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) launched a probe into the actions of two RCMP officers who were called to the park to conduct a welfare check. The IIO later found the actions of the officers on the night the teen died were “not negligent,” and that “they acted completely reasonably in the circumstances.”

Darrell says Carson was a big part of his life, recalling many hobbies and activities they shared. Since his death, Darrell says his family has taken up anti-bullying campaigns, with the hopes of helping other children.

“My ultimate goal would be to have anti-bullying posters in most of the ice rinks and communities,” he said, noting his grandson’s love of hockey. “But in order to do that, I need something bigger than myself.”

-With files from Monika Gul