The man charged in the death of a Nanaimo teenager pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder.
Steven Michael Bacon, born in 1964, pleaded guilty yesterday, Aug. 15, in B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo, in relation to the disappearance of Makayla Chang, 16, who was reported missing in March 2017. Nanaimo RCMP announced Bacon had been charged with first-degree murder in September 2020.
A sentencing date is expected to be established on Aug. 29.
A preliminary hearing, to determine whether there was sufficient evidence for trial, took place last November. Bacon had been incarcerated in a maximum-security prison in Ontario and was transferred to Nanaimo for the hearing.
Chang was last seen March 19, 2017, with Nanaimo RCMP subsequently issuing a missing person’s press release. Her body was found in May of that year.
The plea was entered before Justice Robin Baird, with Nick Barber representing Crown counsel and Gilbert Labine serving as Bacon’s legal counsel.
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reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
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