Community to gather to remember teen stabbed on Surrey bus

Ethan Bespflug/gofundme | Daily Hive/Nikitha Martins

Family and friends are set to gather in Surrey to remember 17-year-old Ethan Bespflug, who died last week after he was stabbed on a transit bus.

Yesterday, a second-degree murder charge was laid against 20-year-old Kaiden Mintenko in connection to the teen’s death. He was arrested in Burnaby on Sunday, six days after the incident.

Investigators say they are still working to determine the relationship between the two, but say this was not a random attack and they were known to each other through a third party.

Bespflug was going home to Abbotsford before the altercation and had been on the 503 bus; however, investigators have not revealed more details about what happened or if anyone else was involved.

Nikitha Martins/Daily Hive

A vigil will be held on Tuesday night at 100 Avenue and King George Boulevard, outside the King George SkyTrain station, where emergency responders performed CPR to try and save the teen’s life.

Despite efforts, he died in the hospital.

Flowers for the 17-year-old stabbing victim. (Nikitha Martins/Daily Hive)

Members of the public are welcome to attend the vigil and are asked to bring candles. It starts at 7 pm and the organizer says it will be held “rain or shine.”

“It’s with sad and heavy hearts that we mourn the loss of our sweet Ethan Bespflug and would like to invite friends family and the community come help us bring awareness to this indescribable tragedy,” Melissa Dion wrote on the Facebook event.

Nikitha Martins/Daily Hive

Another gathering will be held days later and will serve as a funeral, which those who did not know the teen are welcome to attend. It will be held on Thursday in Holland Park in the Whalley neighbourhood at 1 pm.

Daily Hive has spoken with Ethan Bespflug’s mother, Holly Indridson, who says both gatherings are approved by the family.

In an interview last week with Daily Hive, Indridson said she wants to see more security on Metro Vancouver transit in the wake of her son’s death.

The Crime Suppression Team is out on the transit system, helping to keep everyone safe, but you’ll never know they’re there. Working in plain clothes, they blend in with transit passengers and become invisible. https://t.co/7zC8lqzcnJ

— Metro Vancouver Transit Police (@TransitPolice) April 17, 2023

Bespflug had just wrapped up his Grade 10 studies at Bakerview Centre for Learning and was due to graduate next year. The Abbotsford teen is remembered for being “always caring about everyone else” and a loving big brother who enjoyed hiking and the outdoors.

Daphni Miller, an aunt, set up a fundraiser to help the family with funeral costs. gofundme.com

Two of Bespflug’s aunts, one who’s Indridson’s sister and another on his father’s side, have each arranged online fundraisers to help with funeral costs for the family. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fundraisers have raised more than $50,000.

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With files from Nikitha Martins and Megan Devlin