Editor's note: this story contains a correction; an earlier version of the police news release stated that the victim and the accused were not known to each other.
An 18-year-old is now charged with attempted murder in relation to a June 23 attack with a metal bat that left a seriously injured victim lying on Cathcart Street, Sault Police said in a news release issued today.
Hestin Ketola was initially charged with aggravated assault, but that charge has now been upgraded.
Officers on patrol on June 23 spotted the victim lying on Cathcart Street. The victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
An investigation revealed someone known to the victim, later identified as the accused, repeatedly struck them with a metal bat in the torso and head in the 100 block of Cathcart Street, said Sault Ste. Marie Police in a news release.
Ketola also faces charges of assault with a weapon and fail to comply with probation order after police responded to a report the same night of a separate victim being beaten with a metal bat in the 600 block of Albert Street.
The 18-year-old accused remains in custody at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre. Ketola also faces charges of assault with a weapon and fail to comply with probation order after police responded to a report the same night of a separate victim being beaten with a metal bat in the 600 block of Albert Street.
Police say the accused did know the victim.
None of the allegations have been tested in court and Ketola is considered innocent unless proven guilty.