David Bagshaw was a problem child.

Profile of a killer: A problem child with painful past
Impulsiveness, defiance started early in life of Stefanie Rengel's killer

Sep 29, 2009 04:30 AM
Peter Small
Courts Bureau

From his earliest years, David Bagshaw was a problem child.


At age 2, he showed signs of aggression.

By 5, he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and placed on Ritalin.

He got into frequent fights.

Although of high average intelligence, he did poorly in school, where his anger, impulsiveness and defiance of authority earned him dozens of suspensions.

But it was a marked departure for Bagshaw, at age 17, to stab schoolgirl Stefanie Rengel six times and leave her to die in the snow on New Year's Day 2008, psychiatrists say.

In fact, it's likely that if he had not met 15-year-old Melissa Todorovic, who relentlessly goaded him into murdering Rengel, the victim would still be alive today, they say.

"Absent either individual, the offence would in all probability not have occurred," wrote Dr. Lisa Ramshaw, a forensic psychiatrist appointed by the court.

"It was their dynamic," the combination of extreme mutual jealousy and possessiveness, his gullibility and her obsession with killing 14-year-old Rengel that created the perfect conditions for murder, Ramshaw said.

On Monday, Justice Ian Nordheimer sentenced Bagshaw as an adult for first-degree murder – and gave him a life term with no eligibility for parole for 10 years.

It was the close of another chaotic chapter in a life that began normally enough when he was born Jan. 5, 1990, at Scarborough Centenary Hospital.

His mother, Cindy Bagshaw, had diabetes and toxemia during the pregnancy. His father, Ronald Bagshaw, is a technician with a major electronics company.

From the start, their only child never walked but always ran, never napped, was hyper and talked "50 mph," the boy would later report.

Cindy Bagshaw had a heart attack when he was 3 and suffered from ill health thereafter.

In daycare, Bagshaw had behavioural problems. They increased in kindergarten. His many suspensions started in Grade 1, making his attendance sporadic.

Bounced from school to school, he was twice expelled from Gordon A. Brown. Bagshaw recalls giving "the finger" to a teacher and saying "F--- you" to the principal at one school.

From Grade 3, he was placed in the first of several behavioural classes.

At East York Collegiate, where he attended high school, he was assigned a special education mentor-teacher. He had trouble maintaining focus, controlling his anger and following the rules.

He has been variously diagnosed as having Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder.

When he was 12 or 13, his mother accused his father of assault, which the father denied. The matter was resolved through a one-year peace bond and Ronald Bagshaw moved out. David did not take the separation well. His loyalties were caught between parents, and he split his time between homes, psychiatrists report.

He and his mother had serious conflicts. In 2002, she reported that he was verbally abusive and always angry. He was accused of assaulting her.

In his first year of high school, his mother suffered several strokes and could not take care of herself properly. He was forced to run the household.

From 14 to 16, he moved in with his father, but was kicked out for bad behaviour. He lived at a group home for five months.

Despite family difficulties, David reports that he always felt loved.

His father remains supportive. But his mother died of a heart attack a month after the murder.

His first romantic attachment was to Rengel when he was 15 and she was 12. The courtship was non-sexual, and Rengel's mother broke it up within weeks after he left a crude message on the family answering machine.

Relationships followed with four or five other girls. He started dating Todorovic in March 2007. They quickly became sexual.

Bagshaw told a psychiatrist their relationship was "fun for a while." But it was also marked by possessiveness and mutual jealousy.

At Sprucedale Youth Centre, where he is being held, Bagshaw has responded well to treatment. He shows a capacity for empathy, psychiatrists say.

Given the right supports, they say, Bagshaw is a promising candidate for rehabilitation.

But prosecutor Robin Flumerfelt has a different view: Bagshaw is a dangerous killer who for months plotted Rengel's death with Todorovic and must be monitored for life. The judge agreed with the Crown.
http://www.thestar.com/article/702418