Slain teen’s father to watch sentencing via video

PENTICTON – The father of a slain teen was granted permission today to watch the sentencing of his son's killer by video feed.

Scott McAdam is unable to attend court Sept. 10 to see Jamie Paul Wolanski sentenced for killing his son. Wolanski pleaded guilty to stabbing Andrew McAdam to death at a grad party on June 11, 2011.

McAdam asked Judge Gale Sinclair to make the sentencing available by video because he is currently in a rehabilitation centre. Sinclair agreed and will also allow McAdam to make a victim impact statement by video if he wishes. It's not clear what kind of rehabilitation centre McAdam is in.

It's been a rough couple of weeks for McAdam's family. Wolanski faced a second-degree murder trial until July 29 when the Crown dropped that down to manslaughter in exchange for a guilty plea. Andrew's mother and grandmother watched Wolanski walk out of court on bail and face a potentially much lighter sentence. Second-degree murder carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment. Manslaughter has no mandatory minimum.

Their last hope now is that Sinclair gives Wolanski the maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

To contact a reporter for this story, to send photos or videos, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065 or tweet @shannonquesnel1