NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — The man who stabbed a woman to death and injured several other victims outside a library in North Vancouver, B.C., two years ago has "limited memory" of the attack and cannot offer a motive, his lawyer said Thursday.
Defence lawyer Georges Rivard told a B.C. Supreme Court sentencing hearing that Yannick Bandaogo accepts responsibility and "the intention was there" during the attack, but the 30-year-old cannot explain what led to it — despite a desire for answers among victims and their families.
Bandaogo, 30, pleaded guilty to murder, several charges of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault over the March 2021 mass stabbing.
At Thursday's hearing, Crown and defence lawyers jointly proposed that Bandaogo receive a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years, although Justice Geoffrey R.J. Gaul may still decide on a different term.
Bandaogo was originally scheduled to read a written statement Thursday, but Gaul pushed it to Friday.
The judge said it's possible but not likely he'll deliver a sentencing decision Friday, as he needs time to take in all of the victim impact statements.
Crown attorney Daniel Loucks told Thursday's hearing in New Westminster that Bandaogo had a criminal record for threatening to stab two strangers in Winnipeg in 2020, as well as assault charges in Quebec.
Rivard said Bandaogo had personality traits that may have been "augmented" by drug use, and two psychiatric tests done after the attack determined him to have anti-social and aggressive tendencies.
Rivard told the court his client had a troubled childhood, saying Bandaogo started using drugs at age 12 and was involved in drug and weapon trafficking until age 17.
After that, he said Bandaogo went into boxing to escape his past, but fell back into drugs, starting to use crystal methamphetamine at age 23 and eventually developing a dependence.
Victim impact statements concluded Thursday, with the mother-in-law of the lone victim killed in the attack calling Bandaogo a "monster" who stole from her son a life with the woman he loved.
She said her son and the victim had been planning to build a life together in Canada, and the young woman's death devastated everyone who knew her.
She told the court the woman had a "heart of gold," often baking her in-laws treats when she visited them.
"How dare you rob us of that," the mother-in-law said, addressing Bandaogo.
"She's a reminder of all that is good in the world. That, you will never become."
The statement prompted Bandaogo to momentarily bow his head during the hearings. He otherwise remained motionless.
The names of the murdered woman and her family are under a publication ban at the hearing, which began Wednesday and is scheduled to continue Friday.
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence, with a non-parole period of 10 to 25 years.
Six people were injured in the attack in and around the Lynn Valley Library. The victims ranged in age from 22 to 78.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2023.
Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press
