 Convicted killer D.B., who can't be identified, addresses his sentencing hearing yesterday, as Justice Ian Nordheimer and Crown attorney Robin Flumerfelt listen. (Pam Davies/Sun Media)
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TORONTO - A sobbing teenaged killer apologized to Stefanie Rengel and her distraught family for "the disgusting crime I committed."
"I killed an innocent girl who deserved to live," a sobbing D.B. told his sentencing hearing yesterday.
The now 19-year-old pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the Jan. 1, 2008, execution of 14-year-old Rengel to appease his jealous girlfriend Melissa Todorovic.
Yesterday marked the first time the hulking teen spoke in court about the shocking crime against a teenaged girl who once had a puppy-love crush on him and hoped to help him reform his troubled life.
"I want to ask for forgiveness but realize that I can't even forgive myself," said the crimson-faced teen, sobbing and exhaling deeply as he read his statement.
"The only thing I can do is accept responsibility for my actions and express deep sorrow and regret. I deserve whatever sentence I receive.
"I will bear the heavy burden for what I did forever. Not one day will go by where I don't regret what I did. To Stefanie's family, I am so sorry. Stefanie, I am sorry."
Rengel's family appeared unmoved by D.B.'s apology.
Crown attorney Robin Flumerfelt urged Justice Ian Nordheimer to impose an adult sentence upon D.B. --who was only four days shy of his 18th birthday when he murdered Rengel. And D.B. knew it and "he got in under the wire," Flumerfelt said.
"Had he waited four days, we wouldn't be here, his penalty would have been automatic -- life in prison -- with no chance of parole for 25 years."
Instead, the maximum adult sentence that a young offender can receive is life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 10 years, court heard.
"A trade of four days for 15 years -- it's a great deal for D.B.," noted Flumerfelt.
A youth murderer can receive only six years in custody plus four years in a half-way house.
"If D.B. is sentenced to the maximum youth sentence and given credit for time already served, he will be out of custody in 41/2 years and completely unsupervised by the time he reaches the age of 28," Flumerfelt said.
He said while D.B.'s girlfriend Todorovic was the ringleader of the planned murder, "D.B. wilfully took on the role of assassin and predator.
"D.B. lured her out of her home, stabbed her six times and left her to die in terror and agony on a sidewalk. And this is someone D.B. liked!" Flumerfelt said.
"It chills the heart to imagine what he is capable of doing to someone he doesn't like."
D.B. has been a violent, anti-social character who "with this offence, hit a grand slam," the prosecutor said.
Defence lawyer Heather McArthur disputed that D.B. was planning Rengel's demise with his girlfriend for months. D.B. spent months "trying to deflect and end the situation" with his "domineering, manipulative" lover. Todorovic waged a relentless campaign of pressure, using both threats to end their relationship and promises of sexual rewards, McArthur stated.
His aborted attempt in October 2007 was a "desperate attempt to placate" Todorovic, McArthur argued.
D.B. stalled Todorovic with excuses such as requiring a getaway car in the summer of 2007, she noted.
The sentencing continues today.
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A KILLER'S MIND
D.B.'S PSYCHIATRIC ASSESSMENT
Key points in the psychiatric assessment of D.B. by Dr. Derek Pallandi.
- D.B. is diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). He has a "protracted history of aggressive behaviour" and freely uses violence to resolve disputes.
- Like psychiatrist Dr. Lisa Ramshaw, Pallandi recommended a youth sentence for D.B., citing his impulsiveness, immaturity and poor coping strategies "were the final common pathways" to his cold-blooded execution of Stefanie Rengel at his lover's behest.
- "I would be concerned about the negative effect of immersing D.B. in an adult correctional facility for a protracted period of time. At this stage in his psychological and emotional development ... he would be influenced by manifestly antisocial and psychopathic peers and there would be a substantial likelihood that antisocial behaviours and attitudes would be ingrained in him permanently."
- D.B. remains a "relatively emotionally youthful and immature offender." But he "has demonstrated more recently a capacity for empathy towards others and a flexibility and adaptability of his character to his circumstances and an ability to profit from learning."
- The murder is unlike his many previous episodes of violence, all involving beating up other males.
- "There is no reasonable expectation that aside from a unique situation which would mirror that in his relationship with Melissa Todorovic, that he would engage in similar types of extreme violence at any point in the future."
- On the murder itself, D.B. said: "Back then, I thought I was invincible ... I wasn't smart enough ... I was too afraid of losing her."
