16-year-old boy dies, relative charged after stabbing at family gathering in Hamilton

A 16-year-old boy is dead after a stabbing at a family gathering,Hamilton police say,and his 22-year-old cousin is in custody and charged with murder.

Police saidthey were called to a home on east Hamilton Mountain around 10 p.m. ET Sunday. They saidthe teenwas transferred to a hospital, where he died.

Laureano Bistoyong has been charged withfirst-degree murder.

According to police, Bistoyong fled his family home on Cadham Boulevard and Upper Gage, near Rymal Road, after the stabbing.

He was found on Monday morning after a citizen on east Hamilton Mountain called police to report a man in their unlocked car,Det. Sgt. Sara Beck told reporters at a newsconference.

"There was something that led to an incident," Beck told CBC Hamilton, but said she could not give any more details on the motive.

Beck said the stabbing took place inside Bistoyong's residence with "many witnesses who came forward in this case and provided statements."

Bistoyongwas scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon.

Neighbour says family having'yearly barbecue' before stabbing

Linda Page saidshe has been livingacross the street from the house on Cadham Boulevardfor 12 years. She said the family was having "a yearly barbecue" on Sunday night.

"They're very quiet people and once a year, they get together and it's not overly noisy. No yelling, no screaming, nothing."

Page said she only knew something was wrong when police vehicles rolled up with their lights flashing.

She said the whole event has been unsettling in a community that is "very quiet."

Neighbour Joe Locicero shares a back fence with the familyliving at the homewhere the stabbing took place.

He said he was out for a cigarette on his front porch when he heard "screaming and wailing" from the house behind him.

Up until then, he said, "none of the sounds that we heard would have indicated anything getting violent or all this. There was talking, and laughter and happiness."

At the newsconference, Beck said, "the family is devastated by their loss and have asked for privacy."