The man accused in a sudden, savage, fatal attack on a UBC Okanagan security guard is expected to plead guilty to manslaughter.
Twenty-four-year-old Harmandeep Kaur was working an early morning shift on February 26, 2022, when she was assaulted.
At the time, Dante Ognibene-Hebbourn was arrested under the Mental Health Act.
After Kaur died from her injuries, he was charged with second-degree murder. He is now expected to plead down to the lesser charge.
The Crown wouldn’t elaborate on why the charges were knocked down.
“Except in rare cases where the Assistant Deputy Attorney General determines it’s in the public interest to do so, we do not disclose reasons behind the exercise of our prosecutorial discretion, including decisions relating to file resolution,” B.C. Prosecution Service spokesperson Damienne Darby said in an email.
Shortly after Kaur’s death, Ognibene-Hebbourn’s father Nicholas Hebbourn told Global News that he had serious concerns about his son’s mental health. He said he had called for a wellness check on him the day before Kaur’s death.
“I had asked them to come pick him up. I asked them to take him to the hospital,” he said. “I had explained to them for six hours over the phone that I was in fear that he was going to hurt himself.“
However, he never imagined that Ognibene-Hebbourn might hurt someone else, he added.
Hebbourn also said that he and his son both worked on campus, and they knew Kaur well.
“I’m a graveyard shift management supervisor. I deal with security eight hours every single night, five days a week,” he said.
“This woman became our friend. That was one of Dante’s favourite security guards.”
At the time of her death, people who knew Kaur said that she dreamed of one day attending UBC Okanagan as a student to become a paramedic. She was remembered as kind and compassionate.
“I just can’t comprehend why it happened,” said Kuljit Pabla, a family member.
Ognibene-Hebbourn is expected to plead guilty to manslaughter on May 13. His sentencing is scheduled to follow throughout the day and wrap up on May 14.