Yannick Bandaogo (left) appears in court before Justice Geoffrey Gaul in New Westminster, B.C. on Monday, May 29, 2023 in this artist's sketch. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jane Wolsak
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. – A man who killed a woman and wounded six other people in a mass stabbing at a library in North Vancouver, B.C., has received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 15 years.
Yannick Bandaogo, 30, pleaded guilty on May 29 to one count of second-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder over the March 2021 attack in and around the public library in Lynn Valley.
Bandaogo, who did not know his victims, has not explained his motives to the court in New Westminster, although defense lawyer Georges Rivard has said his client “accepted his responsibility.”
Bandaogo apologized to each of his victims in a July hearing, as he described his “story of self-destruction,” involving heavy drug use before the attack
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life term, with a non-parole period of 10 to 25 years, and the defence and prosecution had made a joint submission to Justice Geoffrey R.J. Gaul recommending a 15-year non-parole period.
The court earlier heard impact statements from victims and their relatives, including the mother of the woman who was killed, who said the death of her “gentle” and “fearless” daughter shattered the family.
Neither the murdered woman nor her relatives can be named because of a publication ban.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2023.
