http://www.thestar.com/article/616693
Peter Small
Courts Bureau
The Crown will seek an adult sentence for a 19-year-old man who admitted yesterday to luring Toronto schoolgirl Stefanie Rengel from her home and stabbing her six times.
D.B. fled and left the 14-year-old victim still standing after he knifed her on Northdale Blvd., just steps from her home, a youth court hearing was told.
Yesterday, he started crying after pleading guilty, as charged, to first-degree murder.
The burly, short-haired man, dressed in a loose blue shirt and dark slacks, who cannot be identified because he was 17 at the time of the crime, looked stricken as he glanced at the victim's family and was led away.
On March 20, a jury found his former girlfriend, M.T., 17, guilty of first-degree murder for aiding and abetting him in killing Stefanie. Her sentencing hearing is on May 13 and 14.
Court heard that at age 15, M.T. relentlessly pressured D.B. to kill Stefanie, whom she regarded as a rival.
"My client is incredibly remorseful for what he's done," defence lawyer Heather McArthur said outside court.
"He knows that there's nothing he can do to change it, but by taking this step at least he hopes to save the Rengel family further pain."
Toronto police Const. Patricia Hung, Stefanie's mother, hugged her husband, police Sgt. James Hung, after the guilty plea.
Neither she nor Stefanie's father, Adolfo Rengel, spoke to the media.
But prosecutor Robin Flumerfelt read a brief statement from the family.
"Although nothing will bring Stefanie back, we are relieved that both of the killers have now been convicted of first-degree murder."
M.T.'s father said in a later interview that he didn't know how the guilty plea will affect his daughter. "I think he should have done that a long time ago."
He said D.B. still tries to send his daughter messages, although she does not respond. Sometimes they are transported in the same vehicle, he said
"They're in their separate little units and ... he'll still scream, `I still love you M.' and this and that."
Homicide Det.-Sgt. Steve Ryan said outside court he doubted D.B. would have committed the murder without M.T. pressuring him.
Flumerfelt told Justice Ian Nordheimer that he will be seeking an adult sentence, under which D.B. would get automatic life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 10 years. If he is sentenced as a youth, he would serve no more than six years in jail and at least four in the community.
Crown and defence return to court April 17 to discuss sentencing dates.
D.B. and M.T. were students at the same high school and began dating in March 2007, according to an agreed statement of facts that Flumerfelt read into the record.
"Their relationship quickly became sexual and they were professing their love for each other within a few days of going out," Flumerfelt said. "Their relationship was marked by jealousy on both sides."
D.B. called or texted M.T. more than 3,300 times in four months. She monitored his email address to determine if he had been speaking to other girls and insisted on having his Facebook and MSN passwords to check his conversations, Flumerfelt said. (Hmm...little bit of a paranoid control freak this M.T. chick, no?)
She was jealous of many of D.B.'s ex-girlfriends, but became particularly jealous of Stefanie, with whom he had a brief relationship.
"The chats clearly demonstrate that M.T. was jealous and controlling; highly manipulative and obsessed with a hatred for Stefanie, a girl she didn't even know," Flumerfelt said.
She began to pressure D.B. to kill Stefanie, the statement said.
On Oct. 20, 2007, D.B. developed a ruse to satisfy his girlfriend without harming Stefanie. He went to Stefanie's home and told her about the situation, leaving his phone and asking that when M.T. called she should pretend that he had tried to kill her so she would stop pressuring him.
But M.T. kept pushing him to kill Stefanie, Flumerfelt said.
On Jan. 1, 2008, M.T. "threatened and taunted him saying that she would have sex with another boy if D.B. did not comply with her demands."
He went to Stefanie's street armed with a large knife, frequently speaking on the phone with M.T.
He phoned Stefanie, call-blocking his number, and lured her outside, telling her he wanted to talk to her, then he stabbed her.
He fled to a friend's house, ditched the knife and his jacket, then took a taxi to M.T.'s house. "Once inside, he told her what he had done, and they had sex, which was D.B.'s reward for killing Stefanie," Flumerfelt said.
Peter Small
Courts Bureau
The Crown will seek an adult sentence for a 19-year-old man who admitted yesterday to luring Toronto schoolgirl Stefanie Rengel from her home and stabbing her six times.
D.B. fled and left the 14-year-old victim still standing after he knifed her on Northdale Blvd., just steps from her home, a youth court hearing was told.
Yesterday, he started crying after pleading guilty, as charged, to first-degree murder.
The burly, short-haired man, dressed in a loose blue shirt and dark slacks, who cannot be identified because he was 17 at the time of the crime, looked stricken as he glanced at the victim's family and was led away.
On March 20, a jury found his former girlfriend, M.T., 17, guilty of first-degree murder for aiding and abetting him in killing Stefanie. Her sentencing hearing is on May 13 and 14.
Court heard that at age 15, M.T. relentlessly pressured D.B. to kill Stefanie, whom she regarded as a rival.
"My client is incredibly remorseful for what he's done," defence lawyer Heather McArthur said outside court.
"He knows that there's nothing he can do to change it, but by taking this step at least he hopes to save the Rengel family further pain."
Toronto police Const. Patricia Hung, Stefanie's mother, hugged her husband, police Sgt. James Hung, after the guilty plea.
Neither she nor Stefanie's father, Adolfo Rengel, spoke to the media.
But prosecutor Robin Flumerfelt read a brief statement from the family.
"Although nothing will bring Stefanie back, we are relieved that both of the killers have now been convicted of first-degree murder."
M.T.'s father said in a later interview that he didn't know how the guilty plea will affect his daughter. "I think he should have done that a long time ago."
He said D.B. still tries to send his daughter messages, although she does not respond. Sometimes they are transported in the same vehicle, he said
"They're in their separate little units and ... he'll still scream, `I still love you M.' and this and that."
Homicide Det.-Sgt. Steve Ryan said outside court he doubted D.B. would have committed the murder without M.T. pressuring him.
Flumerfelt told Justice Ian Nordheimer that he will be seeking an adult sentence, under which D.B. would get automatic life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 10 years. If he is sentenced as a youth, he would serve no more than six years in jail and at least four in the community.
Crown and defence return to court April 17 to discuss sentencing dates.
D.B. and M.T. were students at the same high school and began dating in March 2007, according to an agreed statement of facts that Flumerfelt read into the record.
"Their relationship quickly became sexual and they were professing their love for each other within a few days of going out," Flumerfelt said. "Their relationship was marked by jealousy on both sides."
D.B. called or texted M.T. more than 3,300 times in four months. She monitored his email address to determine if he had been speaking to other girls and insisted on having his Facebook and MSN passwords to check his conversations, Flumerfelt said. (Hmm...little bit of a paranoid control freak this M.T. chick, no?)
She was jealous of many of D.B.'s ex-girlfriends, but became particularly jealous of Stefanie, with whom he had a brief relationship.
"The chats clearly demonstrate that M.T. was jealous and controlling; highly manipulative and obsessed with a hatred for Stefanie, a girl she didn't even know," Flumerfelt said.
She began to pressure D.B. to kill Stefanie, the statement said.
On Oct. 20, 2007, D.B. developed a ruse to satisfy his girlfriend without harming Stefanie. He went to Stefanie's home and told her about the situation, leaving his phone and asking that when M.T. called she should pretend that he had tried to kill her so she would stop pressuring him.
But M.T. kept pushing him to kill Stefanie, Flumerfelt said.
On Jan. 1, 2008, M.T. "threatened and taunted him saying that she would have sex with another boy if D.B. did not comply with her demands."
He went to Stefanie's street armed with a large knife, frequently speaking on the phone with M.T.
He phoned Stefanie, call-blocking his number, and lured her outside, telling her he wanted to talk to her, then he stabbed her.
He fled to a friend's house, ditched the knife and his jacket, then took a taxi to M.T.'s house. "Once inside, he told her what he had done, and they had sex, which was D.B.'s reward for killing Stefanie," Flumerfelt said.
