All three youth pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Taig Savage's 2021 death

Two youth pleaded guilty to manslaughter on September 14 in B.C. Supreme Court in Kelowna; a third youth had already entered a guilty plea on September 4. All three were minors at the time of Taig Savage's death on September 5, 2021.

Savage, 22, was found injured and unresponsive around 6 a.m. on the track at Penticton Secondary School. Paramedics attended but Savage did not survive his injuries.

Three youth and Isaac Jack were arrested in April 2024 and initially charged with manslaughter. Charges were later upgraded to second-degree murder. All three youth, who were minors at the time of the death, have now pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. Jack, who was 18 at the time of the alleged offence, remains charged with second-degree murder. His jury trial is expected to start May 3, 2027 in Kelowna.

Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the maximum sentence for manslaughter is three years. Second-degree murder carries a maximum of seven years. All three youth have upcoming appearances scheduled for November. A publication ban prevents identification of those who were minors at the time of the alleged offence.

Taig Savage's mother, Tracey Savage, said the outcome felt unjust. "I held my granddaughter just recently, and I realized that my son will never meet her," she said. "It's not the way we wanted things, but as I learned today, nothing, or most things in life, are not fair and this will never be fair."

Former criminal crown prosecutor Rob Dhanu explained the Crown's reasoning to Global News: "The Crown has to prove not only who did what but who intended to do what. The Crown may have felt that in this case it was better to go with the bird in hand rather than the two in the bush and plead to a lesser included offence where they get the conviction."