North Okanagan mom who urged son to fight teen guilty of assault

CONTENT ADVISORY An Enderby mom who encouraged her teenage son to fight another boy over a $50 debt has been found guilty of assault. In a June 17 BC Provincial Court decision, Judge Jeremy Guild said Stephanie Nicole Killman had not only done nothing meaningful to resolve the conflict but had encouraged the violence. "Ms. Killman knew her son was an aggressor and was defrauding another person, but the only action she took was to encourage her son to engage in more violence," Judge Gould said in the decision. "The lack of parenting skills is not the point; what is important is her apparent view that violence was a good solution to the problem." The court document said the beef started when Killman's 15-year-old son bought a bong from a 17-year-old acquaintance in late 2022. iNFOnews.ca has chosen not to name the son or the acquaintance as they are both minors. READ MORE: JONESIE: How Canadian news became victims in its own story https://infotel.ca/opinion/jonesie/jonesie-how-canadian-news-became-victims-in-its-own-story/it105120 Killman's son paid some money for the bong but still owed the 17-year-old $50. The decision said the two teens had several non-violent interactions over the money but the situation escalated. At one point the 15-year-old debtor beat up the 17-year-old's little brother. He said he found a knife on the ground after the fight was over and was then concerned for his safety. The 33-year-old mom knew about the fight as she was pulled into school to talk about her son's behaviour. Judge Guild said that attacking the younger brother "unsurprisingly" increased the conflict. After Killman's son had the fight he said he didn't want to go to school but instead of trying to resolve the situation Killman told her 15-year-old to "man-up." Killman testified this meant her son shouldn't pay the $50 he owed and instead have a fight. "She did not make any effort to resolve the situation without violence, for example, by calling (the other teen's) mother," the Judge said. The situation escalated in March 2023 when the two families happened to be having dinner at a bistro in Enderby at the same time. READ MORE: Jury convicts Kamloops serial rapist https://infotel.ca/newsitem/jury-convicts-kamloops-serial-rapist/it105334 Much of the court document involves witness testimony from what happened when Killman and her son, and the other teen and his mom stepped outside the diner. Killman testified she said, "If you guys touch my kid I will fuck you all up." The two boys then started fighting. Killman's son said he threw the first punch, and the judge found that Killman then struck the other boy in the throat with her hand. She denied it and Killman's son testified it was him who hit the other boy in the throat and not his mom. But Judge Guild didn't buy it. "(He) fabricated it to try to protect his mother from a conviction, and potentially lose her employment," the judge said. The judge was also critical of Killman's attitude in court and inconsistent testimony. "In cross-examination, she was combative, angry at times and dismissive of questions asked, as if they were irrelevant. They were not. Some of her testimony was inconsistent with common sense," the judge said. The judge also pointed out that the fight between the two boys was far from fair. Killman's other son held the 17-year-old in a bear hug so her 15-year-old could repetitively punch him. "She accepted violence as a way to resolve conflict, because she did virtually nothing, despite many opportunities, to even try to stop the conflict. She did the opposite: she encouraged it," the Judge said. Judge Guild noted consensual fights are lawful, but Killman, as an adult, should have tried to stop the fight. "Instead, she escalated the situation, with threats of violence directed against (the 17-year-old), whom she wanted her son to fight, and his mother, who was trying to prevent the fight," he said. Ultimately, Judge Guild found Killman guilty of assault, for striking the 17-year-old in the throat. She will be sentenced at a later date. Somewhat surprisingly, the decision also said the two teens have since "resolved their issue" before the trial and are now on "friendly enough terms," although there is no mention of whether the $50 debt was ever paid. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .