Man handed life sentence for killing estranged wife

Warning: This story contains graphic details some readers may find disturbing.

A man has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 14 years after admitting to the brutal murder of his estranged wife in her Edmonton apartment.

Ahmadou Bamba Mbaye pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench Wednesday.

In an agreed statement of facts, Mbaye admitted to stabbing his estranged wife, Bigue Ndao, a total of 71 times during a dispute on May 7, 2018. At least five neighbours witnessed or heard the brutal attack, which spilled onto the back porch of Ndao's Strathearn apartment.

Ndao was 33 and in the process of divorcing Mbaye, who is in his early 40s. They have two daughters together, who were elementary school students at the time.

According to the agreed facts, Ndao and Mbaye were born, raised and married in Senegal. They became Canadian permanent residents more than a decade ago, initially settling in Quebec.

During the relationship, there was tension over whether their daughters — 10 and seven at the time of their mother's murder — should be raised in Canada or Senegal. Court documents describe it as a “rift”: Ndao wanted to keep the girls in Canada, while Mbaye supported a return to West Africa.

In July 2015, the family travelled to Senegal. Eventually, Ndao left with the girls without her husband's knowledge. She arrived in Leduc on Boxing Day 2016 and told officials her husband had taken the children's passports. She told RCMP she worried Mbaye would try to take the children back to Senegal.

By 2018, Ndao and her children had settled in Edmonton. They found an apartment near the girls' school and were active in the city's small Senegalese community. Ndao was upgrading her schooling and was looking into the process of divorcing Mbaye and obtaining child support.

Mbaye, meanwhile, had moved to Fort Mcmurray, where he'd found a well-paying job.

In the days leading up to the murder, Mbaye left Fort Mcmurray for Edmonton and applied for a unit in the apartment complex where Ndao lived. The day before the murder, he'd sent Ndao a Mother's Day gift: flowers, chocolate and a card, which were delivered to her at school.

The card read: “Thank you for all that you do for the children. From their Papa.”

Mbaye and Ndao planned to meet the following day to discuss the children. He arrived at the apartment around 3 p.m., while the children were still in school. According to court documents, Mbaye brought condoms.

At some point, Mbaye attacked Ndao. At 3:36 p.m., police received a flurry of 911 calls about a “disturbance” in the apartment. A neighbour described emerging from the basement suite below Ndao's apartment and seeing her lying face down on the patio with Mbaye on her back. Another witness said she was “screaming and reaching out for help.”

Mbaye himself called 911 at 3:41 p.m. and told police he'd stabbed his wife. He remained on the phone until police arrived at the apartment and placed him under arrest. Ndao was found in the kitchen and declared dead at the scene.

An autopsy determined Ndao died of blood loss. Medical examiners counted a total of 71 stab wounds inflicted by multiple knives. Police found three broken knives at the scene, including a badly bent butter knife. The blade from a steak knife used in the attack was found in Ndao's heart.

During an interview with police, Mbaye told detectives he had been in a relationship with Ndao for more than a decade and that “he was still in love with her.”

When the girls were informed of their mother's death, one sobbed so hard her nose bled.

Second-degree murder carries a life sentence, with a parole ineligibility period of 10 to 25 years. Justice Adam Germain ruled that Mbaye won't be allowed to apply for parole for at least 14 years.

Manon Petitclerc, a former co-worker from Quebec City, called Ndao a “beautiful and good person” in an email to Postmedia around the time of her murder.

“She was a beautiful and good person who loved life and who loved to laugh,” Petitclerc said in an email in French.

“She wasn't complicated, she was simple, amiable, sociable — she loved to listen to others and to smile.”