Victim's Father Angry Charges Dropped Against Teens In METALLICA-Related Death

Canadian Press reports that four young men hugged weeping friends and family after prosecutors dismissed manslaughter charges against them in the death of a man on an Edmonton, Alberta, Canada transit bus after a fight over heavy metal music.

The victim's father said the decision means he will now never know how his son died.

Steve Conley wanted a trial to proceed, if only to hear testimony from the four youths.

"The four of them were probably the best witnesses to what happened," he said Friday from Apsley, Ont. "I would have liked to have seen this go to trial. Then the best witnesses would have been questioned.

"I am really clueless as to the exact facts of what happened."

The four youths — one was 16 and three were 17 at the time of the killing — were charged in the March 2006 death of Stefan Conley (photo),35, originally from Cookshire, Que.

Initial reports from witnesses, widely reported in newspapers and broadcast outlets, suggested that Conley was swarmed, kicked and stomped by four rowdy teens after he told them to settle down. The beating was said to have continued after Conley fell.

"The initial reaction that was played out in the media was one of a person on an ETS bus being swarmed and killed," prosecutor Bart Rosborough said outside court Friday.

"I think it was actually very educative for the public to see that once the full evidence came out, a very different story was told."

The original story collapsed during a preliminary hearing, which was held in public at the request of the defence.

Under cross-examination, the witnesses acknowledged they didn't actually see any kicking or stomping because their view was blocked.

Others testified Conley interrupted a conversation among the four youths about the rock band METALLICA and insulted their taste in heavy-metal music. Court heard Conley and the teens then traded jibes.

A 16-year-old girl testified that Conley, who was five-foot-11 and weighed 198 pounds, crossed the aisle and punched one of the boys. The youths fought back, but one passenger told court they stopped punching Conley as soon as he let go of their friend.

The fight lasted about 10 seconds. Between five and 10 punches were thrown.

A medical examiner testified that Conley, who had a blood alcohol level twice the legal driving limit, died from a rare injury — a pinhole tear in a tiny artery at the base of his brain, the result of a blow to the face or chin. He died within minutes of receiving it.

Conley's father also criticized early reporting on the case, saying it cost him the chance to see his son's body.

"Is anybody in the media going to stand up and say we reported a story without the facts?" he asked.

Read the entire article from the Canadian Press.