Man who brutally killed Delta teen Laura Szendrei back in court

The man who brutally killed Delta teenager Laura Szendrei is headed back to court Monday to find out if he will be sentenced as a youth or as an adult.

The Delta man, who was 17 years old when he killed Szendrei, 15, and cannot be named, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after killing the teen in Mackie Park three years ago.

The Crown is hoping the man will be sentenced as an adult, which would result in an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years.

If he’s sentenced as a youth he would receive a maximum four years in prison, with the remainder served in the community.

The sun was shining and sporting events were underway on Sept. 25, 2010, when Szendrei’s friends heard her screaming from a path way in the park and ran to help her.

She had been severely beaten, and died the next morning in hospital.

In the days that followed, Szendrei’s parents, Mike and Rachael Szendrei, made a tearful plea for help as residents in the suburb south of Vancouver feared for their safety.

Delta Police received about 500 tips, but the mystery of who killed Szendrei continued for months.

But police had already identified a suspect and went to work on an undercover operation

On Feb. 21, 2011, Delta Police announced the arrest of another teen in Szendrei’s murder.

The police sting that helped get him before a judge was a major factor in that outcome, said Const. Ciaran Feenan, spokesman for the Delta Police Department.
“Needless to say, it was instrumental in the investigation itself and certainly played a factor in what has happened today.”

In the weeks after Szendrei was killed, bushes along the pathway where she was attacked were closely cropped, leaving a clear view between the roadway and the playing fields.

With files from the Canadian Press