Edmonton woman whose dogs killed 11-year-old boy sentenced to 2 years of house arrest
Posted September 3, 2026 7:17 am.
Last Updated September 3, 2026 5:23 pm.
The Edmonton woman convicted in a dog attack that killed an 11-year-old boy in 2024 has been sentenced to house arrest.
Crystal MacDonald was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death after her two large and unneutered Cane Corsos killed Kache Grist at her south Edmonton home on April 1, 2024. He died from bite injuries to his neck.
Kache was in Edmonton visiting his dad, who was living with MacDonald at the time, on spring break.
Crown prosecutors wanted five years in prison for MacDonald, while the defence argued instead for house arrest.
She was sentenced to two years minus one day of house arrest in Penticton, B.C. She was also banned from owning dogs for at least the next 10 years.
MacDonald gripped a tissue, wiping tears from her face as the judge read the decision. He said he accepted MacDonald’s remorse and deemed her not a threat to society.
The trial heard the dogs, which weighed more than 100 pounds, had a history of violence. Prior to killing Kache, they had already attacked and bit two people, and killed a small dog and cat.
When the judge found MacDonald guilty, he said she had failed to take steps to protect the boy, such as not training the dogs properly and not keeping them on a leash or chain in the boy’s presence.
The judge also said it was inappropriate for her to expect the boy’s father – her roommate at the time – to protect Kache from the dogs by himself.
MacDonald had asked to serve her sentence in B.C., where she now lives, having left Alberta because of social media backlash.
–With files from James Dunn and Lauren Boothby
