Arguments are underway in a Surrey courtroom over whether the teen who pleaded guilty to killing Laura Szendrei three years ago should be sentenced as an adult.
It is the first day of the sentencing hearing that is expected to last several days.
There was a lot of legal wrangling that delayed the start of the case, but today Crown was able to enter a hard copy of the statement of facts – the details on what exactly happened on the day of Szendrei’s murder that both Crown and Defense agree upon.
The court room was packed today with people, mostly Szendrei’s family. The Delta teen was 15 when she was brutally attacked and killed in Mackie Park in Delta three years ago.
The accused was mostly emotionless in the prisoner’s box as he watched the proceedings. The man cannot be identified because he was still a minor when the crime was committed. He pleaded guilty to second degree murder in Szendrei’s killing.
More details on his background were revealed today, and over the next few days, experts will give their opinion on his state of mind, which will be pivotal in deciding his sentence.
It was revealed that in the months leading up to Szendrei’s death, the man also attacked three women near Burns Bog. He was never charged in connection to these offences.
If he is sentenced as an adult, he could get an automatic life sentence and would be eligible for parole in seven years.
As a young offender, he would get a maximum sentence of 7 years – 4 years incarceration and three years conditional sentence to be served in the community.
The accused has already served two years and five months in prison, and is expected to get credit for time served.
With files from Darlene Heidemann
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