Wyatt DeBruin Murdered Laura Szenrei

The past couple years have borne witness to a lack of safety for women in Vancouver-area parks, awareness of which was raised to frightful new heights in late September 2010 with the murder of 15-year-old Laura Szendrei. She was a Grade 10 student at Burnsview Secondary School in Delta, B.C., who died in hospital early Sunday morning, September 26, 2010, succumbing to injuries from a severe blow to the head.

The lethal attack took place only a few hours earlier, on Saturday, September 25 in a park next to the school she attended in North Delta. The attack which became fatal occurred in broad daylight at 1:30 p.m. while she was walking through the woods on the way to meet friends. Szendrei's friends were near the park and heard two loud cries for help and ran in that direction, arriving seconds after the attack to find her laying on the ground.

Delta Police Force told media they were looking for a 'person-of-interest', and said, “As a result of initial investigative efforts Delta Police were looking to speak to a person who may have information that may further our investigation." The person of interest was described as a young male seen leaving the park at about the same time as the attack, walking swiftly while preoccupied with a cell-phone.

He was Wyatt Debruin. He was convicted of her murder.

Wendy Ladner-Beaudry was an avid jogger, a mother of two young daughters, who entered Pacific Spirit Regional Park (adjacent the UBC campus) where she was attacked and murdered April 3, 2009, and the body was discovered by a hiker the same afternoon. Ladner-Beaudry was co-chair of the BC Games Society and was well-known as an avid promoter of sport and fitness for women in the province, and she was the sister of former Vancouver councillor and mayoral candidate Peter Ladner.

Her husband Michel Beaudry said in the days after the murder, “She was a loving wife, a dedicated mother, a consummate professional and a source of joy, love, and inspiration to everyone she met,.” The murder of Ladner-Beaudry remains unsolved while she was posthumously inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame this year.

This unsolved murder was preceded by another earlier in the spring of 2009, when a 43-year-old woman named Tammi-Lynn Louise Cordone was found in West Vancouver's Lighthouse Park. Her body was found lying near a tent that was set-up close to Juniper Point. Cordone had apparently been living as an itinerant in Lighthouse Park, a 74-hectare park off Marine Drive where camping was not permitted. Initially investigators treated Cordone's death as 'suspicious', then the investigation turned to homicide.

A relative of Cordone from Thunder Bay, Ontario, where Cordone was from, said the family received few details about the attack, and told the Vancouver media, “All we know about what happened was she was a good kid.” This investigation is being handled by both West Vancouver and Vancouver police departments because the West Vancouver Police Department does not have its own homicide unit. This murder also remains unsolved.

About a year ago, Oct. 19, 2009 9:20 AM Vancouver police issued a public warning after a local woman was violently sexually assaulted while walking through a west side park not far from the Pacific Spirit Regional Park. Reports said she was attacked in Hastings Mill Park, located next to the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club on Point Grey Road.

"He repeatedly punched her, multiple times in the head and face, then dragged her towards the centre of the park," said Cst. Jana McGuinness. The woman was able to fend off her attacker after a violent struggle during which the assailant began a sexual assault on the victim. The attacker left the scene, and police reported the victim sustained "significant" facial injuries and bruises.

"Obviously this is a violent and traumatic event," said Cst. McGuinness. "There will be an emotional toll -- no doubt for many weeks, and potentially even longer." Police said the suspect was described as 5-5 to 5-8 tall, medium-skinned with a medium build, and, “speaking in a distinctly British accent.” He wore a hooded sweatshirt and jeans, had a handkerchief over his face. Police discussed a possible connection to the murder of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry in April the same year because the park on Point Grey Road lies in relatively proximity to Pacific Spirit Regional Park.

Cst. McGuinness said the public must exercise caution in these relatively benign circumstances, and she listed a few safety suggestions, including: walk with a partner, carry a cell phone, stick to well-lit routes, and let someone know where you are. "These are just minor steps, but they can be really helpful in dissuading a serious attack," she said.

Kayla Bourque, "Canada's Cutest Psychopath" Back on the War Path

Convicted, in court, and especially in public opinion

Kayla on Facebook

A twisted soul with sunken eyes that wide stare the world, she looks harmless, in fact she looks scared. Kayla Bourque, 23, is being cited overseas in the UK, for example, as "Canada`s cutest Psychopath." She is 5 ft 4, 130 lbs with dark brown eyes and black hair. She was once an innocent but was left by mankind to starve. She was shut out and left alone to weak to cry. Is it any wonder she is now a psychopath? 

British Columbia corrections facility issued a public warning in December 2012 when Kayla finished a jail sentence and was released. Kayla plans to make her home in Vancouver. The Ministry of Justice said of her "She has offended violently against both people and animals and is considered high risk to re-offend." Kayla Bourque was brought up from the age of 8 months in Prince George. Her adoptive mother said she is "articulate and intelligent" but has a "preoccupation with causing harm to others." She is not welcome back into the family home. "Im scared that is she doesn't get enough help,the right help, it will escalate," her adoptive mother told CBC News. Her adoptive father does not see her as a threat to his own safety, but has concerns about the safety of other members in the family. 

In March 2012 Kayla was arrested after a friend reported a conversation where Kayla had told her she had disemboweled a cat then dismembered its body. She also had said she had fantasies about killing a homeless person or perhaps somebody living in residence at Simon Fraser University, where she was a criminology student.

On investigation officers found in her home a seven inch knife, hypodermic needles and a mask. But the discoveries didn't stop there, they also found a written "confession" where she narrates herself torturing and then hanging the family pet, a dog. The most disturbing find must have been a video she made where she takes enjoyment from killing a cat. It is a callous, cruel and sickening act but imagine feeling nothing and not being impacted by this crime. Imagine for a second how it would feel to feel only shallow and deafened emotions to never experience true happiness or love.

It has been proven by many researchers psychopaths have damaged brains. Psychopaths have been found to have a disproportionate hippocampus, the right side being significantly larger than the left. The corpus callosum also often appears bigger than that of a healthy human being. The way that a psychopath's brain transfers information, the speed that information is processed, is generally believed to be the reason why psychopaths fail to feel normal emotions and genuine remorse.

Kayla served six months in jail before her trial, Judge Malcolm Maclean added two months to her sentence when she she confessed to the charges amounting to an eight month sentence. The public are being requested to report Kayla if they suspect her of breaking any of her terms of release. The terms include a curfew which mean she cannot leave her home between 6am-6pm, a ban on accessing social network sites (she may only use the computer to look for a job). She cannot entertain visitors without first making them fully aware of her charges. She cannot enter into a relationship without a fully written confession of her crimes. In total there are 46 terms to her release which will make it difficult for the public to bump into her at all.

Psychopaths are often subject to the nature nurture debate. The real question being are psychopaths born or made? Studies into adoption have found that children can inherit psychopathic traits from their parents, however studies also exist that show a lack of secure attachment in early years can also have a devastating effect.
 
Kayla Bourque is the result of Communist tyranny and she is the victim of an institution. For almost 25 years dictator Nicolae Ceauceseu ruled over Romania with an iron fist. In an attempt to increase the population he banned contraception and abortion. In 1989 he was finally thrown from power but not before his disastrous policies left the country in economic ruination. Poverty stricken families were forced to surrender the children they could no longer feed. They surrendered them to decrepit state institutions and run down hospitals creating a whole generation of abandoned and neglected children. Kayla spent her first eight valuable months in such a place before being adopted by a loving Canadian family.

Dr. Elinor Ames researched and compiled a report "The Development of Romanian Orphanage Children Adopted to Canada." During her study she found that 72 percent of adoptive parents she researched believed their child's emotional, behavioral and social problems to be the most worrying issue. In her report she recommended that "All adoptions of orphanage children should be considered by parents and adoption officials to be special-needs adoptions."

The importance of attachment to a parent or caregiver in the first years of life cannot be underestimated. It might not look like much but when a parent looks into a baby`s eyes they are connected. The baby learns about the world around them at this point the brain is making connections of almost 1000 synapses a second. This attachment is in my opinion the most powerful force in the world. The matter of whether we should fear Kayla may be debatable, however the public should be made aware of the basis for her affliction. 

The Senseless US Shooting by Adam Lanza Hit Home in Canada

Earthquakes, hurricanes, plane crashes and terrorist attacks to name just a few. It really doesn’t matter how horrendous the disaster, the reality remains the same in most cases, someone survives. What separates the survivors from those who perish ? Nancy thinks she knows, it is the failure to react when a threat is staring you in the face. That is why she stockpiled food and water in her home and why she registered five guns in her name.

Nancy Lanza 52, was an intelligent, self-reliant women, she was proud of her home situated in the prosperous town of Newtown, near the city of New York. She believed we are all facing an uncertain future that the global economy will collapse. She thought that financial disaster would lead to the fall of civilized society and signal the beginning of barbarism. She could never have guessed that a threat lay closer to home. She was the loving attentive mother of two boys. Once when her youngest was sick she had slept outside his room on the hard floor just so she could reassure him she was there should he wake.

Nancy was asleep in her bed when he years later crept into her room. He shot her four times in the head, using her own weapon a 22 Marlin rifle.

Adam Lanza, 20, must have felt powerless for years, and perhaps his mother seemed demanding. His parents were divorced. He had virtually no contact besides his mother. A year ago he had burnt himself with a lighter in the desperate attempt to feel something. Adam suffered from a medical condition which meant he could not feel pain. This condition stressed him and led to complex psychological issues. He also suffered from Asperger's Syndrome (autism spectrum) and had difficulty with normal social interactions. He was shy, reclusive and seemed unable to make friends.

Lanza was wearing black clothing and a mask when he drove to Sandy Hook Elementary along with a .223 calibre Bushmaster rifle and two pistols.

Victoria Soto was a young, bright eyed teacher, she loved her job and the students. One of her friends Rachel Schiavone remembers her as "a ball of energy with an incredible personality" Victoria spoke about her pupils and had reportedly planned to make gingerbread houses with them that day. When she heard gunfire and screams in the classroom opposite her plans had to change.

Victoria busied herself hiding her students in the cupboards. Then she bravely tried to distract the gunman by telling him her pupils were in the gym. First graders later recalled to their parents and policeman how Victoria had shielded children from bullets with her own body. In her yearbook she quoted Victor Hugo by writing "You have got to dance like nobody s watching. Dream like you will live forever. Live like you will die tomorrow and love like it will never hurt." Hugo s last printed words included "I beg a prayer to all souls."

Gene Rosen’s auditory senses perceived within seconds the abrupt sound of gunfire close to his house. He dismissed it, he was not unfamiliar with the sound of a hunter in the woods. Gene Rosen is a retired man of 69 who had once worked as a psychologist. A peaceful married man who lives in his modest-sized home, painted in bright welcoming yellow. Some might call it the idyllic lifestyle. He had built his small garden with the help of his two young grandchildren who often visited and they had chosen a small fish pond and a bubbling waterfall. He had taken his grandson a few times to a local school parking lot out of hours and taught him how to use his bike. His granddaughter he later recalled had enjoyed being pushed on the swings in the playground.

He could not have conceived the events that were transpiring around him. At 9.30 am Rosen found two young boys and four young girls sat in a semicircle on his driveway. One little boy then made him aware of a terrible event "We cannot go to our school" "Our teacher Mrs Soto is dead, we don’t have a teacher" A school bus driver then revealed to him the true scale of the disaster and that the children had fled a gunman. In total Adam Lanza shot dead 20 children between the ages of six and seven as well as six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary before committing suicide. One 52 year old teacher was reportedly found dead with her arms around a student in an attempt to protect them from harm. Adam Lanza killed 27 people on Friday 14th December 2012, including his mother, and the resounding question through tears will always be "... why ?"

On the 20th December a funeral was held for one of the victims. Ana Marquez Greene was six years old and already a talented singer, ”She didn’t walk anywhere. She danced.” Even at the young age of six she was known for selfless acts of kindness often leaving notes under her mother's pillow just to tell her how much she loved her. She left for school on Friday December 14th, “wearing a white shirt with a purple peace sign,” according to her mother Nelba Marquez Greene who revealed to the media that the day before the shooting she had purchased a new Kindle Fire HD for Ana's Christmas present.

Ana was originally a Winnipeg girl. Her mother had a job at the Aurora Family Therapy Centre, University of Winnipeg and Ana`s father Jimmy Greene worked at the University of Manitoba as a music professor. Her family had moved to Connecticut a year ago. Isaiah, Ana`s older brother also attended Sandy Hook Elementary School but was unharmed.

The last thing Nelba remembers is giving her beautiful daughter two kisses on the cheek before Ana got on the school bus. Uttering the last words her mother would hear, Ana said smiling, “There is something for you under the tree.” Nelba emphasized to the media that she felt the school had all the necessary safety procedures in place, and that, “No lock down procedure in the world could have prevented anyone with that kind of power and ammunition.”

As Winnipeg City Council continue to table the plans for Winnipeg's 2013 budget, Councillor Paula Havixbeck in the district of Charleswood-Tuxedo called for Winnipeg to increase the funding of the (SRO) program. The School Resource Officer Program places uniformed police officers in city schools. She believes in light of the recent shootings in Newtown it is now imperative schools improve on their security. Speaking to the Winnipeg Sun she said of her proposals for change, “Every student and every teacher has a right to be safe.