Crown and defense are seeking life, 15 years without parole, for fatal mass stabbing in BC

Crown and defense lawyers have jointly proposed a life sentence with no chance of parole for 15 years for the man who two years ago stabbed a woman to death and wounded several other victims at a library in North Vancouver, BC.

Yannick Bandaogo, 30, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, several counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault during the March 2021 mass stabbing.

Crown lawyers and Bandaogos defense The team told a hearing that they agree on the recommended period of non-parole, though Judge Geoffrey RJ Gaul can still decide on another term.

Victim statements have been sealed at the Supreme Court of British Columbia in New Westminster, with the mother-in-law of the only victim killed in the attack calling Bandaogo a “monster” who stole a life from her son with the woman he loved.

She told the court that her son and the victim planned to build a life together in Canada, and that her death devastated everyone who knew the young woman.

She says that Bandaogo “robbed” the victim’s families, a statement that led Bandaogo to bow his head for a moment.

The names of the murdered woman and her family are under a publication ban at the hearing, which began Wednesday and is expected to last Friday.

Bandaogo was scheduled to read a statement in French in court later Thursday.

First-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 years.