The man charged in the death of a St. Albert teenager has a criminal past.
Jaeden Chaisson, 17, and a 13-year-old girl were found with multiple stab wounds at a St. Albert home on Thursday night.
Chaisson died in hospital late Saturday afternoon, the 13-year-old girl has since been released.
“These are the types of calls that officers dread. You’ve got lots of trauma, this was a very violent attack,” Insp. Ryan Comaniuk told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.
Kaj Randall, 28, has been charged with first-degree murder in Chaisson’s death, and attempted murder for the attack on the other teen.
Mounties say Randall and Chaisson knew each other.
In 2016, Randall was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, accused of breaking into a different St. Albert home and stabbing a sleeping husband and wife.
Chaisson’s death marks the second time this year a St. Albert teen has been killed.
In May, Broden Radomske, 15, was fatally stabbed at 137 Avenue and 184 Street while walking his dog with his mother.
A 40-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder in his death.
“The city of St. Albert has had a particularly difficult couple of months with two young lives lost to violent attacks. The impact of this loud loss is far reaching,” Comaniuk said.
Criminologist Dan Jones says Randall’s history shows courts need to look at the severity of crime and the chance of reoffending when deciding on sentencing.
“There’s a lot of people sitting in remand centre that are in there for nonviolent offences. It’s not about bail reform. It’s about common sense and understanding the idea of crime severity,” he told CTV News Edmonton.
Jones, who also knew the victim’s family, says the loss of potential is what hits the hardest.
Jaeden Chaisson, 17, died following a July 18 stabbing at a St. Albert residence. (Photo: GoFundMe)
“You’re going to see other people’s families going to do these things that they will never get to do and that is the tragedy of every homicide, but it’s really the tragedy of homicides of young people.”
Randall’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 12 in St. Albert.