Man charged in killing of Jannai Dopwell-Bailey handed life sentence with no parole for 13 years

A 21-year-old man charged with the second-degree murder of Montreal teenagerJannaiDopwell-Bailey has been sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 13 years.

A Superior Court judge delivered the sentence Thursdayin the case againstAndrei Donet,who was 18 when he was arrested in connection with the teen's death.

Last month,a jury foundDonetguilty of second-degree murderin the October 2021 fatal stabbing of 16-year-oldDopwell-Bailey outside of his high school inMontreal'sCte-des-Neigesdistrict.

A minor was also convicted for second-degree murder in December 2023 for the same case. The identity of the teen is protected by a publication ban because he was a minor at the time of the event.

The second-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence in prison with no possibility of parole before 10 years to a maximum of 25 years.

The jury had recommendedDonetbe eligible for parole after 12 years in prison.

The prosecution recommended 15 years while Donet's lawyers recommended 10.

Charla Dopwell, Dopwell-Bailey's mother, said she hopes the sentence will help prevent teen violence.

"My son is gone and he will always be remembered. I love him, I miss himand it's salvation victory for my son," she said.

"I will be able to move on from the case, but my son is always in my heart. He is always with me. He is with me 24/7."

BernardBailey, Dopwell-Bailey's father, said he has to fight "day to day just to stay positive."

"Every day I try to re-energizebecause since they took my son from me I just lost all my strength, my motivation, everything," he said.

"I miss my son so bad. He was the life of the house, the life of the family, and we're missing all that. It's terrible."