A teenager who stabbed his mother 39 times because she insulted him and wouldn't give him money for a powwow was sentenced to four years in jail and three years of community supervision on Thursday.

The boy and his mother can not be identified because he was a youth at the time of the killing. Now 19-years-old, the young man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last week.

The mother and son had been out shopping on July 24, 2014.

At a Walmart the teen wanted his mother to buy pegs for the tent he planned to bring to a powwow, according to an agreed statement of facts. He didn't realize she had already made the purchase.

The boy also asked his mother for money which she refused to give him.

Brother found victim in 'blood soaked house'

The mother called her son "worthless" and when they returned to their home, the boy took a knife from the kitchen and attacked.

Neighbours heard the incident, followed by two days of silence, prompting them to alert the landlord who then had police check on the home.

The mother's body was found in a pool of blood in the basement suite by police and the victim's brother.

Finding his sister's body in the "blood-soaked house" left "a hole left in my heart that will never be filled," he wrote in a victim impact statement real aloud in court on Thursday.

"She was not only my sister, but my best friend as well."

Family members emotional

Crown prosecutor Cameron Jose originally gave notice that he would seek an adult sentence, but after negotiations with defence lawyer Rebecca Snukal, the pair agreed to propose the maximum youth sentence of four years in custody and three years of community supervision

Provincial court Judge Gary Cornfield accepted the joint submission.

"This is a crime that strikes at the core of our human existence," said Cornfield.

The judge told the offender he was guilty of "killing somebody who you should have loved dearly."

Several family members wept and held each other throughout the hearing. In their victim impact statements, many wrote about their fear that the 19-year-old will re-offend after he's released.

Originally, doctors found the teen mentally unfit to stand trial but a year later he was deemed fit.

With credit for the time he's been in custody, the teen has just over a year left on his in-custody sentence.