Man convicted in 1981 murder of Hamilton woman gets shot at early parole

WARNING: This story contains details of sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.

The man who sexually assaulted and killed 23-year-old Hamilton nursing assistant Diane Werendowicz in 1981, and was found guilty in 2016 of first-degree murder in his fourth trial, has a shot at an early release from prison.

Robert Badgerow, 66, received the mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, which means he normally wouldn’t be allowed to apply until 2032.  

But under the Criminal Code’s Faint Hope Clause, Badgerow was allowed to ask for a judicial review of his sentence after serving 15 years, and the request was granted. The clause was repealed in 2011, but remains an option for people serving sentences for murder committed before Dec. 2 of that year.

Badgerow’s hearing began Monday before a 12-person jury at Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice in Hamilton and is expected to run three weeks. 

The jury will decide if Badgerow will be allowed to apply for parole early, after the Crown and defence make their cases about his character, conduct in prison, nature of the crime and lasting impact on Werendowicz’s family. Badgerow is also expected to testify. 

Crown attorney Cheryl Gzik, who successfully prosecuted Badgerow in 2016 in Kitchener, told jurors he’s a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who should not be given a chance for an early release.  

“Robert Badgerow is deceitful, hasn’t shown any remorse or insight into his behaviour and denies the offence,” Gzik said. 

Badgerow — who’s over six-feet tall, has a long white beard, and was wearing glasses, jeans and a green jacket at the hearing — had his head down in the prisoner’s box as he took notes on a large pad of paper.

He maintains his innocence but “respects” the criminal justice system, defence lawyer Aditi Iyer told the jury. 

“Please think about how much a person can change after 43 years.” 

Convicted after 4 trials

Badgerow’s case is unique in another way — he was the first person in Canadian legal history to be tried for the same murder four times.

Throughout the legal proceedings, including multiple appeals and mistrials, he spent a number of years in pre-trial custody and out on bail, which have counted toward his parole eligibility date. 

One night in 1981, Werendowicz was walking home from a Stoney Creek bar after celebrating her upcoming birthday with friends.

That’s when she encountered Badgerow, who dragged her into a forested ravine and sexually assaulted her, said Gzik in her opening statement Monday. 

He strangled her with her purse strap and dumped her half clothed in a creek with a tire on top of her head so there was “no possible chance of recovery,” Gzik said. 

“It was a brutal, horrific murder. It wasn’t just a rape, but a rape, strangulation and drowning.” 

The next day, children playing in the area discovered Werendowicz’s body.

The case remained a mystery for 17 years — until advancements in DNA technology led to a breakthrough.  

In the late 1990s, investigators were able to extract DNA collected from semen found on Werendowicz’s body and jeans, and compare it to Badgerow’s DNA collected from a Tim Hortons soup spoon. 

It was a match, and he was arrested in 1998. 

At the time, he worked at what was then called Dofasco and was a married father of three children.

Badgerow claimed he and Werendowicz had consensual sex in the back seat of his car after she left the bar, and before they parted ways, and she was killed by someone else. He pleaded not guilty. 

A jury found him guilty in 2001, but the case was overturned on appeal. 

Two more trials followed, in 2010 and 2011, and ended in mistrials.

A judge then ordered a stay of proceedings — effectively ending prosecution — and Badgerow walked free for a year and a half. 

But in 2014, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered a fourth trial based on evidence that suggested Badgerow had called 911 from a phone at Gate 6 of Dofasco in the days after Werendowicz’s murder. 

The caller had incriminating information only the killer would know. 

A jury found Badgerow guilty. 

Attended mother’s burial last year

In total, he has spent 11 years in pre-trial custody, nine years out on bail and six years serving his sentence, Iyer said. 

Now he’s not asking the jury for leniency, “but a chance to ask for leniency,” she said. 

Parole officer Shona Donovan testified that Badgerow is considered a low risk to reoffend, gets along with other male inmates, and has completed his high school diploma and worked several prison jobs. He’s finished one course designed to help sex offenders, although he hasn’t admitted to sexual assaulting Werendowicz. 

“He was an active participant who presented as motivated,” Donovan read from a report to the jury. “Although he denied to committing the offence, he was able to address past behaviours that were problematic.” 

Last year, Canada’s parole board determined he was low risk enough to grant him a “rare” compassionate absence from Warkworth Institution, Donovan said. Prison guards escorted him outside the prison for two hours to attend his mother’s burial. 

If the jury unanimously agrees to allow Badgerow to apply for parole early, then a two-thirds majority decides how many years he has to serve first.

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For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database.