On 22nd April 2017, Serena “Serenity” McKay attended a house party in Manitoba, Canada. By 1am the next morning, she had been beaten and left for dead in a brutal assault live streamed on Facebook.
Pictured above is a snapchat taken by Canadian teenagers Lynnae Cook and Chrissy Jacobs (pictured top) just hours after violently beating 19 year old Serena McKay (pictured bottom) and abandoning her unresponsive body in freezing temperatures. Jacobs’ face, hands and jacket can be seen covered in blood.
Cook and Jacobs had confronted Serena over an issue involving alcohol, which led to a violent attack that was live streamed on Facebook and remained online for almost 4 hours. The graphic footage shows Serena lay on the ground while being kicked, punched and stamped on repeatedly. She can be heard crying “I’m so sorry” until she is beaten barely conscious.
Also pictured is a private conversation which took place between Cook and Jacobs after learning that Serena had been found dead. Despite there being a sense of fear in the messages, one of the girls was heard saying “I don’t want to fucking see her alive” during the video clip posted online.
Since Serena’s body was found on 23rd April 2017 - which was less than 24 hours after the beating - both girls were arrested in connection with her death. During the trial, the pathologist informed the court that Serena had sustained a total of 67 injuries. Ultimately, she had died due to hypothermia after being left outdoors, unresponsive and therefore unable to protect herself from the subzero temperatures that night.
Although Lynnae Cook and Chrissy Jacobs each pleaded guilty, their age prevented either of them from serving any longer than 4 years in prison. Instead, in accordance with Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act, a portion of their sentences can be carried out as ‘conditional supervision’ - which means they are able to serve time within the community rather than in custody. Serena’s family felt the verdict was “no justice” and the sentences handed down were a “slap in the face”.
There was also a Change.org petition set up which campaigned for the arrest of an 18 year old male named Cal Fontaine - Lynnae Cook’s boyfriend - who was also present during the attack. Just before the group abandoned Serena as she clung to life in the cold, Fontaine allegedly removed her clothes and stole her belongings in order to stage the attack as a sexual assault and robbery.
