Court hears audio of fatal attack on Edmonton mother, assault on child

Family and friends of an Edmonton mother killed in her home in 2021 wept in a courtroom Friday as they listened to an audio recording of their loved one's final moments alive.

Donny Nathan Meeches, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter Friday in the Court of King's Bench, admitting that he caused Amber Steen's death during a violent assault that he doesn't remember.

Meeches had faced a second-degree murder charge and was scheduled for a jury trial set to begin earlier this week. The jury was discharged after Meeches decided to enter a plea.

When charges against Meeches were announced in 2021, Edmonton police didn't disclose 31-year-old Steen's identity, in order to protect her young son who was also assaulted but survived.

Judges are able to impose publication bans to protect the identity of children who have been victims of crime. But at the outset of the hearing, Crown prosecutor Terry Hoffman told court that Amber Steen's family and her son Whyatt's guardian don't want a publication ban on either the mother or child's name.

"She never, ever wanted to be just another number. She never, ever wanted to become a statistic," Amber Steen's sister and Whyatt's guardian, Chantelle Steen, said Friday, standing outside the courthouse in Edmonton.

"I think that's why we want her story to be told, because many other women's stories aren't told and they're taken from us and they don't ever have their chance in court."

Chantelle Steen says its important for her family to share her sister Amber Steen's story. (Paige Parsons/CBC)

During the hearing, Hoffman read out an agreed statement of facts that revealed that Amber Steen and Meeches were Facebook friends, and that they had only met in person on one previous occasion.

Court heard that Meeches told Steen he was coming to Edmonton, and she shared the address of the townhouse where she lived with her son, Whyatt, who was 11 at the time.

Meeches arrived at the home on the evening of Nov. 21, 2021, and brought a bottle of whisky with him. Whyatt was upstairs with a friend who was visiting, but who went home as the evening wore on.

Court heard that Meeches and Steen drank, listened to music and chatted.  But when Steen began asking Meeches why he'd been "kicked out" of British Columbia, Meeches responded with violence.

Hoffman played several pieces of audio for the court that captured what happened next.

Nine of Amber Steen's family and friends sat in the courtroom, wearing red T-shirts with a photo of Amber on them. Many of them wept as they listened to the recording of the violent assault and the desperate calls for help that followed.

A security camera system set up for Steen's front door recorded audio inside the home, in which Steen can be heard questioning Meeches, followed by several minutes of banging sounds and heavy breathing.

Hoffman told court that while it's not part of the agreed statement of facts, the noises heard are believed to be Meeches' assault on Steen.

An autopsy report found that Steen's cause of death was blunt force trauma. She had bruises and cuts across her body, and non-survivable injuries to her brain.

Later in the recording, a high-pitched scream is heard in the distance, which Hoffman said is believed to be Whyatt as he was being assaulted by Meeches.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Whyatt was in a bedroom on the second floor and heard noise downstairs.

He looked down the stairs and was spotted by Meeches, who climbed the stairs, pushed the child to the ground and kicked both his face and body.

Meeches left the home, and Whyatt called Chantelle Steen and his cousin on Facebook messenger, asking for help. He also called out an upstairs window to a neighbour, who called 911.

Hoffman played recordings of 911 calls by both the neighbour and Chantelle Steen.

Court also heard a recording of Amber Steen's other sister and her husband arriving at the home, shouting the mother and child's names. Once the brother-in-law kicks in the door, they discover Amber Steen on the ground.

In the recording, the brother-in-law is heard running through the house searching for an assailant while the sister calls 911.

Amber Steen, 31, died after being violently assaulted in her Edmonton home in November 2021. (Submitted by Chantelle Steen)

Another high-pitched scream is heard on the recording, which Hoffman said is Whyatt as he is taken past his mother, out to a vehicle.

Audio of another 911 call captured the sound of Amber's family desperately trying to resuscitate her with CPR.

Hoffman said despite their efforts and first responders, Amber Steen died in her home.

Whyatt was taken to hospital and treated for injuries to his head and upper body.

He now lives with Chantelle Steen, and while his recovery has been challenging, he is doing better, even speaking about his mother at events for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

"He wants everybody to know his mom's name because she was a beautiful person inside and out. You know, she took care of everybody that was around her," Chantelle Steen said.

Meeches turned himself in after a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest.

During the hearing Friday, Meeches sat next to his lawyer, wearing an orange jumpsuit. He spoke quietly while pleading guilty and agreeing that he understood what he was admitting to.

A date for sentencing will be set next month.

The Steen family is planning a candlelight vigil for Saturday – which would have been Amber's 34th birthday –  at 5:30 p.m. at the Rowland Park Lookout.