The man found guilty of killing a woman in a random downtown stabbing has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Micheal Adenyi was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2022 death of Vanessa Ladouceur, a verdict that comes with the automatic sentence.
At the sentencing hearing Thursday, Justice Jan Sidnell called Ladouceur’s killing a heinous crime against a stranger who was simply walking to work. Sidnell told Adenyi it was clear he had not only taken Ladouceur’s life, but had ruined those of her friends and family, calling his actions an exceedingly violent crime.
Vanessa’s mother, Erika, read the only victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing, describing her daughter as beautiful with infectious laughter and a smile that would light up a room. She said her friends remember Vanessa’s sense of humour, laughter and ability to make people feel comfortable in any setting.
Erika detailed the trauma of identifying her daughter’s body the day she was killed. Part of her statement read, “I remember standing there not understanding why her beautiful blond hair was red. My brain could just not accept what I was seeing.”
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Erika says she has suffered complex PTSD since Vanessa’s death and has lost her job as well as friends because of it. In her statement, she said. “Losing her is so profound it’s impossible to put into words… her sister has already moved away, and I will be doing the same shortly. The memories are too painful.”
Vanessa was walking to work when she was killed on March 18, 2022. Surveillance footage shows Adenyi following her for more than two blocks before body-checking her into an alcove and stabbing her repeatedly, including six times to the face. Vanessa ultimately died from blood loss.
Adenyi’s lawyers had argued he wasn’t criminally responsible for the crime, saying he was suffering hallucinations at the time and couldn’t understand his actions were morally wrong.
However, at the end of a five-week trial, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, which brings an automatic sentence of life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.
At the sentencing hearing Erika spoke directly to Adenyi, telling him, “I believe the sentence you receive for this senseless and cowardly killing is just and I hope you will never receive parole but serve the full sentence under the law.
“I hope you remember her beautiful face every time you see the scar on your hands or look in the mirror and I hope you never get a chance to hurt someone else again.”
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