WINNIPEG — She started the night eating dinner with her family before going out to celebrate the completion of her midterms with friends.
But the 16-year-old ended up beaten, stomped on, sexually assaulted and tossed in the city's frigid Assiniboine River. She dragged herself from the water only to be beaten unconscious with a hammer and left to freeze to death on the riverbank.
When she was found partially clad early the next morning, her body temperature had dropped to 25C, more than 10 degrees below normal. The homicide unit was called in to investigate, because officers were sure she would die.
As she was being warmed in hospital, she went into cardiac arrest for 45 minutes. She was revived, only to lapse into cardiac arrest again. When she awoke briefly, she began flailing her arms around as if she was still fending off the attack.
The teen miraculously survived and went on to be one of the most poignant advocates calling for an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.
On Monday, one of her attackers, 21-year-old Justin Hudson, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault on the teen and another victim who was attacked later that same night in November 2014. Charges of attempted murder were stayed.
The teen can no longer be named because of a publication ban requested by her family. But the agreed statement of facts read out in court paint a picture of a brutal attack and her harrowing recovery.
The statement says how Hudson and his co-accused, who was 17 at the time, were out celebrating the younger boy's birthday and planned to break into some cars.
It says they happened upon the 16-year-old girl who had been separated from her friends.
Court was told the two males took her under a downtown bridge where they planned to rob her, but once there, their plans changed.
The girl came under attack from both men, court heard.
"She tried to fight back but was taken to the ground and stomped on in the upper body and head area," Crown attorney Debbie Buors said in court. "She tried to protect herself and fought back and she did so until she was knocked out by both of the accused."
After taking turns sexually assaulting her and beating her unconscious, Buors said the accused took the girl's phone, iPod, jacket and running shoes, leaving her for dead.
Court heard how the two then went on to encounter a 23-year-old woman, luring her into a downtown alley and hitting her in the face with a bat. She was robbed, beaten and repeatedly sexually assaulted by both accused, Buors said.
"During the entire time she was being sexually assaulted ... she was pouring blood from her face, the inside of her mouth and from the head wound to the back of her head," Buors said.
The woman was told "I like this one. Let's keep her for a while," Buors said.
When they finally let her go, she went to a convenience store where she happened to cross paths with Hudson's mother and sister before being taken to hospital.
The mother and sister had grown suspicious about Hudson when they saw he had a new phone and blood on some his clothing. Court heard that Hudson told his mother to shut up, "or I'll do to you what I did to that girl last night," Buors said. His sister called police and Hudson was arrested.
The 17-year-old was arrested after, court heard, he took pictures with the stolen iPod of himself wearing the teen's jacket and posted them to his Facebook page. The photo was also uploaded to the victim's iCloud account, which was turned over to police. He is facing similar charges under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He has not entered a plea and can't be named.
Hudson quietly admitted his guilt in a courtroom Monday, a year after the attack.
"No one is forcing me," he said in a soft-spoken voice when asked if he was pressured into the plea.
He's expected to be sentenced early next year.
