'MY SON WAS A GOOD KID,' TEEN'S MOM SAYS

Mother 'Furious' Police Linked Fatal Shooting of Teen to a Drug Deal
That Turned Deadly

Peel police say Baden Willcocks died during a soured drug deal, but
that's a story his mother refuses to believe.

"That's not the son I knew," Tammy Willcocks told the Star yesterday
as family members continued to grieve his slaying in a Brampton park
Friday night.

The 15-year-old died from a single gunshot wound, possibly from a
sawed-off shotgun, after he and friends went to meet other young
people in a park behind Earnscliffe Public School, near Queen St. E.
and Torbram Rd., shortly before 9 p.m.

Police say it appears Baden wasn't directly involved in the drug
deal.

But that's cold comfort to Willcocks, who said she's "furious" police
have floated that story without telling family any details first.

"It's absolutely not true, the furthest from the truth," she said,
adding she believes Baden was "playing ball" with friends.

"They automatically assume the worst. My son was a good kid. It's very
insulting."

Const. Marlene Murphy said detectives have confirmed that Baden was at
a house party with friends in Bramalea sometime before 9 p.m.

"One of his friends got a phone call and set up a meeting," Murphy
explained.

"So Baden went with him, with a couple of friends, to this meeting
place on the catwalk in the park," where the group was to meet a
single individual for a drug transaction.

"But four people showed up and very quickly a dispute erupted into
shots being fired," she said.

"A gun was produced. Baden and his friends tried to run away when they
saw that, and Baden was shot."

Police wouldn't confirm that the dispute was over an attempted drug
rip-off for less than an ounce of marijuana.

Nearby residents rushed to the park and attempted first aid on the
mortally wounded teen, but he died before emergency response workers
arrived.

A 17-year-old and a 16-year-old were arrested Saturday, charged with
second-degree murder and remanded in custody during weekend court
appearances.

Both are to appear again today in Brampton court, along with another
17-year-old who turned himself in to police yesterday.

The third suspect has also been charged with second-degree murder and
remains in police custody.

Police are still searching for one more male who fled the scene in a
gold-coloured vehicle.

Murphy said police have had "a massive amount of cooperation from the
community.

"They are a huge partner in us being able to come to the arrests we've
made so quickly," she said.

A close friend of Baden told the Star that the teen had seemed
depressed in recent days.

"I was talking to him on Thursday; he was telling me he didn't want to
be alive," said former girlfriend Tiffanie Prentice, 17.

"I had a feeling something was going to happen."

She said she tried to encourage him, to boost his spirits, telling him
he shouldn't want to die.

But she said he told her he believed he would die in the
streets.

"He said he'll be in a better place if he goes. . . I was like, 'No,
Baden, you don't want to go."'

Prentice said she leaned on Baden as a confidante, and vice
versa.

"Anytime I had any problems, I'd call him; when he had problems, he'd
call me," she said.

"He said the only thing he wanted in life was a girlfriend to love
him."