It was shocking to hear that one of the men convicted in connection with Burnaby teenager Luka Gordic’s death had already been released from custody.
Released early, I should add – six months early. (You can read about the early release here.)
Sigh.
A few others have been convicted in connection with Gordic’s death, but this column isn’t about them.
No, I’m talking about the other youths who took part and got away with being held accountable for their roles.
Gordic, 19 at the time, was swarmed by eight to 15 youths outside of a 7-Eleven in Whistler on the May long weekend in 2015 after a dispute between him and one of the members of the group, 18-year-old Arvin Golic.
Gordic had sent a message to Golic earlier, confronting him about mistreating his ex-girlfriend and telling him to stop. The attack lasted less than 10 seconds, ending in a fatal stab to the heart.
Four males have faced the court system, but as many as 11 other people took part. When there are that many people, it’s difficult to charge them all because it’s difficult to pinpoint who did what. I’m sure that made it even more difficult to even get convictions in the case.
Swarming isn’t a new thing, of course, but it’s despicable. I don’t want anyone to fight and I’m not condoning fighting, but when I was that age, two dudes with a grudge fought it out and then, sometimes, shook hands afterwards.
Today? It’s all about the swarming, with cowards jumping in and stomping a helpless victim.
As many as 11 cowards took part in the swarming of Gordic and will never face any kind of justice. They probably don’t even feel guilty about what happened.
I wish they did. I wish they would be forced to listen to Luka’s mom Clara unleash her grief on them and it would make them crumble.
“I want them to hurt,” Clara told the NOW in 2018 during the trial. “I want them to envision what they did, like all the details that came out in court. I want them to truly look within themselves and really think back and don’t deny what they did. I want them to remember, just like I do.”
The Gordic family will never be the same. They will hurt forever.
All because a bunch of cowards thought it would be fun to kick a little ass on a helpless boy.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
