Suspect believes victim saw him masturbating at work
A man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2022 death of a female security guard at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, according to a report.
On Tuesday, 24-year-old Dante Ognibene-Hebbourn entered the plea in a Kelowna courtroom, reported CBC.
He was originally charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Harmandeep Kaur, also 24, who died in hospital on February 27, 2022, one day after the attack.
According to CBC News, both individuals were working on campus at the time — Kaur as a contracted security guard and Ognibene-Hebbourn as a custodian. The court heard that the two were acquainted before the incident.
An agreed statement of facts presented by Crown lawyer David Grabavac detailed the events, which were captured by campus security cameras. Footage showed Ognibene-Hebbourn walking through a university building shirtless and holding a knife. He approached Kaur, kicked her in the torso, and then threw her to the ground. He proceeded to stomp on her head and face multiple times over the course of approximately nine minutes. She later died of blunt force trauma.
Another security guard discovered Ognibene-Hebbourn shortly after the assault. He was acting erratically and was detained under the B.C. Mental Health Act. A subsequent psychiatric evaluation determined he was experiencing “profound psychosis” at the time, triggered by a combination of illegal and prescribed drug use. However, the court found he was criminally responsible for his actions, though his ability to form intent for murder was likely impaired, according to the CBC report.
Ognibene-Hebbourn had a documented history of mental health struggles, including suicide attempts. According to the report, he had discontinued his prescribed anti-psychotic medication in September 2021. In the weeks leading up to the incident, his parents contacted his mental health support worker to report concerns about his condition. The day before the attack, a nurse from a Critical Response Team visited him and advised his father to take him to hospital if there were immediate concerns.
In an interview with RCMP following the assault, Ognibene-Hebbourn said he believed Kaur had seen him masturbating through a window and feared she would tell others.
