TORONTO — The “truly evil” act of stabbing a 14-year-old girl to death to pacify an intensely jealous girlfriend saw David Bagshaw handed an adult sentence Monday of life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.
Bagshaw was just four days shy of his 18th birthday when he lured Stefanie Rengel out of her Toronto home on New Year’s Day 2008, stabbed her six times with a eight-inch knife and left her to die.
Bagshaw pleaded guilty earlier this year to first-degree murder. Melissa Todorovic, his girlfriend at the time who is now 17, was sentenced as an adult in July to life with no parole for seven years.
The two convicted murderers had a sexual relationship “marked by mutual obsession and jealousy” which culminated in Bagshaw killing Rengel after months of pressure from Todorovic, who mistakenly saw Rengel was her rival, said Justice Ian Nordheimer.
Two psychiatrists who assessed Bagshaw believe he could be rehabilitated with proper treatment, the judge noted. And by pleading guilty, Bagshaw took responsibility for his actions and spared Rengel’s family another trial.
“All of those mitigating factors cannot, however, overcome the nature of David’s actions — the planned and deliberate killing of a young girl, a young girl who he apparently liked and who liked him,” Nordheimer told the court.
“Nor can they blind us to the fact that David still poses a threat to the safety of the public.”
Nordheimer had previously described Todorovic as the “puppet master” in the murder and gave her the maximum sentence for first-degree murder.
Todorovic had been “hounding and manipulating” Bagshaw to kill Rengel for months, threatening to withhold sex, end the relationship, have sex with another boy that Bagshaw knew or kill herself unless he went through with it, the court heard.