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Police arrested him days after the final attack. Footage from surveillance cameras helped police identify Benhsaien as the assailant when he was spotted walking through the ByWard Market six days later, still wearing the same clothing and distinctive cap. His DNA later matched that on the recovered weapons.

Justice Colin McKinnon, who sentenced Benhsaien last week, called the legal ordeal to sentencing a “torturous path” where Benhsaien had repeatedly denied responsibility for his actions, blamed society, and had sent lengthy submissions to the judge himself.

Benhsaien had been thinking about attacking women with a hammer for anywhere from one to two years before his first attack and attacked the women with the hope that the crime would garner publicity. Then he could mount a defence to all that society had done to him.

McKinnon found the man to be sane but presenting a cognitive disorder, either faked or real, and possibly “playing a game to get an appeal.”

The Crown had sought to have Benhsaien declared a dangerous offender. While McKinnon found that the Crown had proven that Benhsaien met the criteria to be branded a dangerous offender, the judge opted instead to designate him a long-term offender.

To designate someone a dangerous offender, a judge needs to be satisfied that “the offender constitutes a threat to life, safety or physical or mental well-being of other persons.” The designation carries with it an indeterminate prison sentence. McKinnon found instead that there is a “substantial risk” that Benhsaien will reoffend but that “there is a reasonable possibility of eventual control of the risk that the offender poses in the community.” Branding him a long-term offender means that when Benhsaien is released from prison, he will be supervised by the court and parole board for 10 years.