The young North Delta man who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2010 beating death of Burnsview secondary student Laura Szendrei made a brief appearance in Surrey provincial court on Monday.

He will be back in court on July 15 for the beginning of a four-day hearing where lawyers are expected to argue over whether he should be sentenced as an adult or youth. Meanwhile, his name cannot be published, by court order, as the Youth Criminal Justice Act shields his identity. He was 17 when Szendrei was killed.

Originally charged with first-degree murder, he pleaded guilty plea to the lesser charge last year.

Szendrei died in hospital on Sept. 26, 2010, one day after she was viciously beaten in broad daylight while walking along a path in Mackie Park forest, in the 8200-block of 110th Street in North Delta.

She was 15 years old.

If sentenced as an adult, the young man's sentence will be life in prison without eligibility to apply for parole for seven years.

If sentenced as a youth, he faces a seven-year sentence, with a maximum four of those years to be served in prison and the remainder in the community, under supervision.

Typically, adults convicted of second-degree murder get a life sentence with no eligibility to apply for parole for 10 to 25 years.

tzytaruk@thenownewspaper.com