Couple who killed Ontario teacher faces victim’s family to apologize
ST. THOMA S , ONT. •A couple whose depraved sexual appetites led them to brutally murder and rape an Ontario teacher they picked up on the side of the road three years ago apologized to the woman’s grief-stricken family Thursday as they prepared to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
Tanya Bogdanovich, 34, and Michael MacGregor, 22, chose to face Noelle Paquette’s family and friends in a packed St. Thomas courtroom as they took turns voicing their remorse for the gruesome killing.
Though both said they wished they could reverse their actions and bring Paquette back to life, neither shed light on what fuelled their violent plan — a plot that initially focused on a teenage girl but shifted to the Sarnia teacher by a twist of circumstance.
Nor did they ask for forgiveness.
“I want to say sorry, I know I can’t change or take back what I’ve done no matter how much I wish I could,” said MacGregor, who addressed the court first. “What I did was terrible and because of it Noelle is gone, when instead she should still be with you.”
“I’m not asking for your forgiveness; I don’t deserve it and could never hope for it,” he said.
Bogdanovich’s voice broke as she acknowledged the “all-encompassing pain” caused by Paquette’s murder, which she described as a “horrendous tragedy.”
“One night forever changed the course of many lives and it can never be undone,” she said, adding she regretted waiting so long to plead guilty.
Bogdanovich and MacGregor pleaded guilty late last year to first-degree murder in the savage slaying of Paquette, a stranger they abducted on a road as she was walking home from a New Year’s Eve party.
The offence carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. The pair must also be added to the DNA bank and sex offender registry and face a lifetime firearms ban. They must also refrain from contacting Paquette’s family and friends.
In handing down the automatic sentence — Ontario Superior Court Judge Bruce Thomas said the pair’s “vile and despicable” actions required them to be removed from society for most of their lives.
Paquette’s father, Roger Paquette, said outside court the sentence was “neither an ending nor a beginning.”
“It is a message to everyone to be cautious but not afraid, to live life to the fullest and to love and be kind,” he said.