The case of Makayla Chang's murder (L) by Stephen Bacon (R) concluded earlier this year with a sentencing hearing. (Nanaimo RCMP)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

A community mourns

Top Stories of 2023: Man sentenced for murdering Nanaimo teenager Makayla Chang

Dec 21, 2023 | 2:07 PM

NANAIMO — About six years after he killed a then 16-year-old Nanaimo girl, the man responsible for her untimely death was sentenced for his actions.

Originally charged with first degree murder, Steven Michael Bacon pleaded guilty to a reduced second degree murder charge in 2022, setting the stage for an emotional April 14, 2023 sentencing hearing.

The actions of Bacon morphed into a national story. An agreed statement of facts read out by the Crown’s Nick Barber before a packed gallery in BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo heard Chang died on March 17, 2017.

Her body was buried in a shallow grave in the woods just off Nanaimo Lakes Rd. where she was ultimately found roughly two months later.

Bacon met Chang in the summer of 2016 and the two formed a father-daughter type relationship.

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The pair had a falling out just prior to Chang’s death where she declared she didn’t want him to adopt her.

Chang’s boyfriend dropped her off at Bacon’s Bruce Ave. home late at night and she was never seen alive by anybody other than Bacon again.

The pair had an argument, during which Bacon pushed Chang, causing her to fall back and hit her head.

He then fatally strangled Chang for about 10 minutes with his bare hands.

Bacon and his roommate, taxi driver Kenneth Postman, who drove a wheelchair-accessible vehicle for work, transported Chang’s body away to be buried.

Charges were not pursued against Postman.

While Crown Counsel would not comment as to why Postman was exonerated, the only reasonable conclusion is he played an essential role in finding Chang’s remains and implicating Bacon.

In addition to the act itself, Bacon’s post-offence conduct was also highly aggravating.

He used Chang’s cell phone to deflect attention on himself as questions about the girl’s whereabouts arose.

Bacon communicated with friends of Chang and her family both directly and by posing as Makalya. He also reported Makayla missing to Nanaimo RCMP five days after murdering and burying her.

In the ensuing days several vigils took place to draw attention to the missing girl’s case.

The victim’s father, Kerry Chang, was enraged as he addressed Bacon during the sentencing hearing.

“You’re a monster, you’re a pedophile, you’re a child killer, you’re the absolute lowest form of a human being, you’re anything but human,” Kerry told Bacon.

The offender addressed the court, saying he’s destroyed so much and there’s nothing he can do to make it better or change things.

“There’s nothing I can do to offer any kind of hope…there’s nothing I can say to make this better because it’s not better, it’s horrible. I deserve to be where I am and deserve to be where I’m going,” Bacon said.

Justice Robin Baird spoke candidly to Makayla Chang’s family and friends, clarifying Bacon’s sentence of life in prison and parole eligibility of 20 years doesn’t mean he gets out then, but rather he’ll have the right to ask for early release.

“It is entirely possible and I think even likely that you will die in a federal penitentiary. You have taken Makayla Anne Chang’s life and you have forfeited your own.”

Bacon initially pleaded not guilty to first degree murder, before changing his plea to guilty to the reduced charge.

While the pain of Makayla’s murder will forever linger, particularly for her family and friends, having the case solved and conviction was incredibly important.

Bacon showed remorse for his actions in open court also helped obtain a semblance of closure for Makayla’s family and friends.

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