Deputy warden says killer of teen would need secure custody like Robert Pickton

SURREY, B.C. – A deputy warden with B.C.’s correctional service says a young man who murdered a 15-year-old Delta, B.C., girl would need the same secure custody setting in prison as serial killer Robert Pickton.

Harry Draaisma (drah-IS-may) told a sentencing hearing that the man — who can’t be named because he was 17 at the time of the murder — will need to be separated from the rest of the prison population because of the nature and notoriety of his crime.

The man, who’s now 21 years old, pleaded guilty to killing Laura Szendrei in a North Delta park in September 2010.

He admitted to attempting to subdue and rape Szendrei, but when the girl resisted, he hit her over the head multiple times with a metal pipe.

The court is deciding whether to sentence the man, who is expected to address the court later, as an adult or as a youth.

If sentenced as an adult, he would receive life in prison with eligibility for parole after seven years, but if he receives a youth sentence, he would get seven years, with four years served behind bars and the remainder served in the community.