Teen who lied to police after Tyson MacDonald's death sentenced to 2 more months in custody

A teenager who pleaded guilty to misleading police after 17-year-old Tyson MacDonald disappeared in eastern P.E.I. in mid-De‐ cember, sparking a huge search before his body was found, has been sentenced to two more months in youth jail plus 30 days of community supervision.

The teen has already been in custody for four months at the youth jail in Summerside, where he has been housed apart from other inmates. He pleaded guilty in February to public mischief through mis‐ leading police and obstruc‐ tion of justice.

"It is not just the dollar cost of the resources expen‐ ded, it is the human cost, the people who diligently searched," Provincial Court Judge Nancy Orr said, de‐ scribing the misdirected hunt for MacDonald that the teen's lies set in motion, eventually including scores of civilians as well as 60 police officers, dog teams, aircraft and drones scouring eastern P.E.I.

"It is the toll on the com‐ munity, the shattered trust… Those are the factors that make [his] actions so seri‐ ous."

Yet the judge noted some mitigating factors: The young man had no prior record, took responsibility for his ac‐ tions, and "acknowledged his wrongdoing guilty plea." through his

Set out to watch hockey game

The last time MacDonald's family heard from the Grade 12 student, he said he was going to a hockey game in Charlottetown with some friends.

His body was found in a wooded area several days af‐ ter he vanished, and two youths were charged with first-degree murder and in‐ terfering with human re‐ mains. The other teen, who still faces those two charges, has not yet entered a plea. His case is due back in court in June.

The teen sentenced Friday pleaded guilty in February to public mischief and obstruc‐ tion, while the more serious charges were stayed.

He had backed the other teen's story that the two of them saw MacDonald getting into a Honda Civic driven by a young woman with a flower

tattoo on her left arm.

That story led police and community members on a fruitless search for someone who didn't exist, until cellphone records pointed in‐ vestigators in the right direc‐ tion, according to the agreed statement of facts in the case.

"He made the decision to be selfish and he lied," Mac‐ Donald's sister Britney wrote of the teen being sentenced, in a victim impact statement read out by a Victim Services staff member. "He took away my family's opportunity to say goodbye."

A publication ban under the Youth Criminal Justice Act prevents CBC News from naming either of the two ac‐ cused people, as well as any details that could lead to their being identifiable to the public.

As the victim, MacDon‐ ald's name was also covered by the Youth Criminal Justice Act, but the family gave per‐ mission for CBC News to identify him.

'It all started with lies'

Earlier Friday, Crown prose‐ cutor Jeff MacDonald had told the packed Georgetown courtroom that the teen "frustrated the efforts of all those searching for Tyson" after he vanished, and gave the community "false hope" that he was alive and well somewhere.

"I have cried every day since Dec. 14, 2023, and it all started with lies," Tyson Mac‐ Donald's mother Amanda MacDonald wrote in a victim impact statement.

The agreed statement of facts in the case, read out in court when the teen pleaded guilty, reveals more about what happened before and after peared.

It says the other accused teen told police that the teen being sentenced Friday:

MacDonald disap‐

was not present when MacDonald died of a gunshot wound, did not help move his body, and did not know MacDon‐ ald was dead when he backed up the first teen's story of MacDon‐ ald being picked up by a young woman in a car.

The statement also said the teen "felt pressured" by the other youth to give false statements to police on three occasions. Although "there were no explicit threats of vi‐ olence," the statement said, the teen told police he knew the other boy "had access to various firearms."

As has happened for every court appearance the accused have made in the case so far, friends and rela‐ tives of MacDonald marched outside the courthouse Friday morning holding signs calling for justice for the Montague Regional High School Grade 12 student.

They and others later crowded into the courthouse, but an official had to stop let‐ ting people in, apologizing and saying he "can't stretch the walls" of the room.

School principal writes of impact

Another statement was read out on behalf of Montague Regional High School princi‐ pal Robyn MacDonald.

"Our school has suffered loss many times before," she wrote in the statement. "We've lost students, staff members, and community members. One of our staff members has lost 10 studen‐ ts during their career at

MRHS."

But Tyson MacDonald's death was different, she wrote. The principal de‐ scribed "a barrage of daily trauma" as the search for the student continued - and eventually, when his body was found.

Robyn MacDonald said staff went from class to class that day, letting students know the grim news.

"We were just holding on," she wrote. "Sometimes it feels like we're still holding on."

Attendance falters the days of court appear‐ ances, and in the days that follow… Groups of students who were once close friends have sepa‐ rated. - Montague Re‐ gional High School prin‐ cipal Robyn MacDonald

The tragedy continues to dis‐ rupt life at the school months later, she said.

"Attendance falters the days of court appearances, and in the days that follow… Groups of students who were once close friends have sepa‐ rated."

There have been fights both on and off school prop‐ erty, the principal wrote.

"Our students are suffer‐ ing. Their parents are suffer‐ ing… They have watched their children grow up the best of friends, only to see that unravel."

A cruel 'blind chase'

Tyson MacDonald's sister Sierra, who wrote in her vic‐ tim impact statement that the teen being sentenced "did not pull the trigger, but he did lie to police."

That act contributed to the agony her family was ex‐ periencing, she said, and "wasted hundreds of peo‐ ple's time… The longer the hunt went on, the more it seemed like there was no truth to the story."

That was echoed by Tyson's father and stepmoth‐ er, Kent MacDonald and Shannon Morriscey.

Because of this lie, Tyson lay in a field for days… He could've been found sooner, and maybe his family could've seen him and said goodbye. - Kent MacDonald and Shan‐ non Morriscey

"The blind chase we were sent on was such a cruel or‐ deal," they wrote. "Friends, family, and community mem‐ bers spent days searching with us...

"Because of this lie, so much time and manpower was wasted. Because of this lie, Tyson lay in a field for days… He could've been found sooner, and maybe his family could've seen him and said goodbye."

Custodial sentence rec‐ ommended

The Crown and defence had agreed that the teen at the heart of Friday's sentencing should serve jail time.

"Nothing short of a custo‐ dial sentence will bring home to [him] the seriousness and severity of his actions," said prosecutor Jeff MacDonald, pointing out that tens of thousands of dollars were spent on the ground and air search for Tyson MacDonald while the teen being sen‐ tenced continued to insist on his initial story.

"What is impossible to un‐ derstand… he repeated the lies three times. It's unfath‐ omable," the Crown prosecu‐ tor said.

"The right thing to do was so easy. Rather than helping and assisting the community by providing desperately needed information, he did the exact opposite."

MacDonald called the teen's claim that he had no idea that the missing youth was dead "hollow," adding that he "had to have known something was seriously wrong. To suggest otherwise is to completely ignore com‐ mon sense."

He did acknowledge that the teen is at a low risk to re‐ offend, comes from a very supportive family, and "does‐ n't have an easy road ahead of him."

Teen apologizes to court

Calling the teen "deeply re‐ morseful," defence lawyer Derek Bondt said he agreed with the Crown's sentence recommendation.

"There's no question he recognizes, and takes re‐ sponsibility for the pain and suffering his lies did cause," said Bondt.

If I could go back, I would do things differ‐ ently. But I cannot… I feel terrible for not telling the truth. - Teen who pleaded guilty to misleading police

After the pre-sentencing re‐ port, the teen was asked if he wanted to speak to the courtroom.

"I would just like to take this opportunity to say I am truly sorry for the harm I have caused," he said. "If I could go back, I would do things differently. But I can‐ not…

"I did not intend to cause harm to anyone. I feel terri‐ ble for not telling the truth."