HAMILTON—Prosecutors have withdrawn a first-degree murder charge against one of two teens accused of fatally stabbing a 14-year-old boy outside a high school in Hamilton, police said Friday.

An 18-year-old and a 14-year-old were initially charged with murder in the death of Devan Bracci-Selvey, who was stabbed outside Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in October and died in the arms of his mother.

At a court hearing Friday, the murder charge against the 18-year-old was dropped, but he now faces one count each of assault with a weapon, administering a noxious thing and possession of a prohibited weapon, Hamilton police said in a statement.

A lawyer for the teen said he's been released on a recognizance and his case is due back in court in late January,

"The fact that he has now sat in jail for over two months, as an 18-year-old with no criminal record, I think is a travesty," Jordana Goldlist said in an interview.

She said there was no reasonable prospect of conviction on the murder charge, and she thanked Crown attorney Brett Moodie for doing "the right thing."

"Looking at all of the evidence, all of the witness statements, there was significant video surveillance — none of which could ever have allowed a jury to convict my client of first-degree murder," Goldlist said.

The other accused in the case continues to face a charge of first-degree murder in Bracci-Selvey's death.

Hamilton police had previously said they believed the 14-year-old suspect, who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was the one holding the knife.

The 14-year-old's lawyer, John Rosen, said his client's case is due back in court on Jan. 2.

The slain teen's mother, Shari-Ann Bracci-Selvey, has said her son was tormented by bullies in the weeks leading up to his death.

The tragedy helped spur the provincial government last month to introduce new anti-bullying measures.