‘Fearless, gentle’ young woman killed in stabbings, mourned during emotional hearing

WARNING: This story contains details about violence.

The mother of the young woman killed in a North Vancouver stabbing that left six others seriously injured told a BC court on Wednesday that the loss leaves her family with little to do but exist.

The identity of the murder victim, who was killed by Yannick Bandaogo on March 27, 2021, is protected by a publication ban.

Her mother gave a victim impact statement at the opening of a hearing on Bandaogo’s emotional sentencing in the BC Supreme Court in New Westminster.

“Our daughter said that when she boarded an Air Transat and heard Canadian accents, it felt like she was going home. But there was another house she loved – our house, the family home, where she grew up with her brother and her sister and her dog and her mother and her father,” the mother told the court.

“Well, she doesn’t have a home now and neither do we. We just need to exist… Our fearless, gentle daughter.”

The victim’s father was by her side the entire time during the victim impact statement, staring directly at Bandaogo the entire time. When they looked at each other, the killer bowed his head.

Bandaogo pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter, five counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault for the Lynn Valley Public Library attack in May.

The murder victim was in her late twenties. Six others were seriously injured, including a university student, a high school teacher and a single mother. The victims were between 22 and 78 years old at the time of the stabbings.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Bandaogo knew none of the people he attacked.

Defense and Crown lawyers have proposed a joint sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 15 years on charges of murder.

‘My whole life has changed forever’

Two of the survivors also issued statements on Wednesday, detailing how the attack changed their lives forever.

Both told the court they still have a long list of unanswered questions about the attack, the main one being why it happened. At this time, no motive has been given for Bandaogo’s actions.

Susanne Till, a single mother of three who lost an eye in the attack, recalled waiting for her daughter’s dance class to end in the library when she was targeted.

“The accused came in and the next thing I knew the girl next to me was viciously assaulted and I knew I had to leave,” said Till.

“I can’t even remember how I got out. Then I came face to face with him [again] and my whole life was forever changed.”

Till said that in addition to losing her left eye, her nose had to be reconstructed. A specialist had to be called in to locate all the bone fragments in her face scattered by the stabbing.

Till’s children all had trouble sleeping for a long time after the attack, she said, and the family has only managed to work through this trauma thanks to extensive counseling.

She added that she used to tell her children to go out into the world boldly and without fear, but she no longer does.

“I used to live by this, too. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live by what I once preached. I’m afraid,” Till said.

“What kind of monster?”

Emma Henderson was a 22-year-old honor roll student at Simon Fraser University at the time of the stabbing. In her victim impact statement, she described having to put all her dreams on hold because of what happened.

Henderson stared straight at Bandaogo and said, “I remember asking what kind of monster—what kind of monster—could stab people in a library?”

On the day of the attack, she had gone to the library to treat herself to a cup of coffee during a study break. Bandaogo pushed her against a fence and stabbed her several times in the face and hand, the court heard.

“I heard screams, horrible piercing screams from someone in pain. I later realized that these were my screams,” Henderson told the court.

“I remember laying there, mind racing, wishing I was dead, wondering if I was dead, and then realizing I was alive.”

She said she struggled to return to normal life and was unable to work since the stabbing. The scars on her face hurt her every time she looks in the mirror, and she tries to hide them as much as possible. She is still afraid to use public transport or go shopping, and occasionally has panic attacks.

“I will never be the person I was before,” Henderson said.

She ended her statement by turning to Bandaogo once more and raising her voice.

“People say forgive and forget. I will never forgive. I will never forget. I will try to move on and live my life, but I will never forgive,” Henderson said.

The sentencing hearing continues Thursday and Friday.