Crown and defence lawyers have jointly suggested a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years for the man who stabbed a woman to death and injured several other victims at a North Vancouver, B.C., library two years ago.
Yannick Bandaogo, 30, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, several charges of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault over the March 2021 mass stabbing.
Crown lawyers and Bandaogo’s defence team have told a sentencing hearing they agree on the recommended non-parole period, although Justice Geoffrey R.J. Gaul may still decide on a different term.
Victim impact statements have concluded at the British Columbia Supreme Court in New Westminster, 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 told the court her son and the victim had been planning to build a life together in Canada, and her death devastated everyone who knew the young woman.
She says Bandaogo “robbed” the victim’s families, a statement that prompted Bandaogo to momentarily bow his head.
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 into Friday.
Bandaogo was expected to read a statement in French in court later Thursday.
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.
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