Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic details and may not be suitable for all readers. Discretion is strongly advised.
NANAIMO — Convicted murderer Steven Michael Bacon will spend at least 20 years behind bars for the murder of local teenager Makayla Chang.
The 58-year-old Bacon pled guilty to second-degree murder in August 2022, admitting to killing Chang in 2017, nearly two months after she was reported missing.
She had turned 16-years-old about two weeks prior to her death.
The charge carries an automatic penalty of life behind bars.
During an emotional sentencing hearing on Friday, April 14, the Crown and defence jointly requested parole eligibility after 20 years, which was accepted by a Supreme Court Justice.
The Honourable Robin Baird delivered his verdict to Bacon after an agreed statement of facts was entered into the record.
Facts of the Case
Chang died on March 17, 2017, the same day she went missing and was buried in a shallow grave in the woods just off Nanaimo Lakes Rd.
The Crown’s Nick Barber told court Chang routinely spent time with her friends at the Tim Hortons on Wallace St. in downtown Nanaimo. It’s there she met Bacon in the summer of 2016, and developed a father-daughter-type relationship with him.
Chang was living with her grandmother at the time, who was her legal guardian.
“Steven Bacon told people his daughter had committed suicide and he viewed his relationship with Makayla Chang as a second chance. Steven Bacon’s claim his daughter had committed suicide was a falsehood,” Barber told the court.
Chang was showered with many gifts purchased by Bacon including high-heeled shoes, a dress and alcohol.
Court heard Bacon looked into the possibility of legally adopting Chang.
In the spring of 2017, Chang stopped attending school and began withdrawing from her family. She would lie about her whereabouts, claiming to be at a friend’s place but instead would be with Bacon.
However, the pair had a falling out around the time of Chang’s birthday in March 2017, where Chang told Bacon she didn’t want him to adopt her.
On March 16, 2017, Chang was at the Tim Hortons with her friends and her new boyfriend.
“During the evening and into the early morning hours…Chang and Bacon had an argument over their phones about Chang staying out too late,” Barber told court.
Her boyfriend at the time dropped Chang off at Bacon’s Bruce Ave. home on March 17, 2017 just after midnight.
It was the last time anyone aside from Bacon saw her alive.
Barber said at 12:41 a.m., Bacon received a text from his friend and landlord Kenneth Postman asking “was my suspicion correct?”
Bacon replied “Yup, I’ve lost my soul, it’s being fixed.”
Court heard the pair had an argument in the early morning hours of March 17, during which Bacon pushed Chang causing her to fall back and hit her head.
Bacon moved Chang to the couch and after approximately 15 minutes, made the decision to fatally strangle Chang for around 10 minutes with his bare hands.
Approximately three hours later, Bacon and Postman who drove a wheelchair-accessible vehicle for AC Taxi loaded Chang’s body into his vehicle and took her to the Nanaimo Lakes Rd. area.
Chang, a John Barsby Secondary School student at the time, was buried in a shallow grave.
In the days to follow, Bacon used Chang’s cell phone to deflect suspicion by portraying to be her.
Bacon communicated with friends and family of Chang’s both directly, and by posing as Makayla. In the afternoon of March 20, 2017, Bacon visited the Tim Hortons on Wallace St. and asked around about Makayla’s wellbeing.
Bacon reported Makayla missing on March 22, 2017, to Nanaimo RCMP.
During the report, Bacon told officers about Chang’s boyfriend at the time and how the two had apparently argued on March 19, two days after her death.
The report was made with Chang’s grandmother in attendance, who has since passed.
Bacon told her: “I’ll make you a promise, and it’s right in front of a police officer…if she gets a hold of me I will get a hold of you instantly.”
Chang’s cell phone was last pinged on the evening of March 22 from a tower near the Nanaimo RCMP detachment. It was the approximate time Bacon was filing the report.
Bacon then withdrew money from his bank account and fled Nanaimo the following morning on the first ferry leaving Departure Bay.
He made his way across the country by riding buses and hitchhiking.
“In addition to travelling under an alias, he had altered his appearance as he left Nanaimo by shaving off his beard,” Barber said.
He had contact with RCMP in September 2019 and was arrested on an unrelated charge in January 2020.
Discovery of Makayla
Chang’s remains were found in May 2017 in a rural south Nanaimo area.
She was placed in a shallow grave surrounded by and underneath several rocks. Barber told court Chang was positioned on her left side in the fetal position.
Chang was wearing a sweatshirt, however there was no evidence of clothing below the waist on her body.
A cigarette and its package were found inside the grave, matching the brand Bacon frequently smoked. Also found nearby were a black flashlight and a black cotton t-shirt which both had DNA matches to Bacon.
During an autopsy, DNA was found which indicated a sexual encounter on the day of Chang’s death which Bacon claimed was consensual.
A toxicology report of Chang’s body found small amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl, along with compounds found in cannabis.
Victim Impact Statements
Barber read a pair of statements, while Chang’s parents made emotional addresses to the court, directly aimed at the Bacon.
Kerry Chang called Makayla an “unbelievable spirit” who was passionate about life and helping people.
He spoke of his Makayla’s death which led him to a suicide attempt in 2020, where he drove his car into a gully off Rutherford Rd.
“For the past six years I’ve asked this question in my head and in my heart: why? She was an innocent little girl, she was our little girl. You have the bold audacity to make the statement that she was your most precious person you’ve ever known. Your dearest ‘baby bird’…you slaughtered her Steven!”
Kerry told Bacon the murder had altered the lives of everyone around the family.
Bacon sat looking down at the floor, motionless during Kerry’s statement.
“You’re a monster, you’re a paedophile, you’re a child killer, you’re the absolute lowest form of a human being, you’re anything but human,” Kerry told Bacon.
Kerry said he will “pray you suffer every day” and dubbed Bacon a “cold-hearted bastard” who used Makayla for his own personal gratification.
Makayla’s mother Janine Vautour called Bacon “deplorable” and “a sorry excuse for a human being” during an extended, tearful address.
She said her hopes and dreams have been dashed.
“She’s dead, she’s gone and never to see her again and I’m back to my bleak existence. I have no zest for life anymore like I used to have. My biggest achievement is making through to the next day,” Vautour said.
Bacon addresses court
Bacon rose for a one minute and 40 second unscripted address during the final minutes of his sentencing hearing.
He told Justice Baird and the captivated, somber gallery he realizes he’s affected a lot of people.
“I’ve destroyed so much, there’s so much damage that’s been done here and there’s nothing I can do to make it better or change it,” Bacon said.
Bacon added he didn’t agree with some of the things said in court, but wanted to take responsibility for his actions.
“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’s attorney Gilbert Labine told court Bacon was adopted sometime between the ages of 14 and 16 years old and he was sexually abused during that time.
He said his client gave a full and voluntary confession to police, which was essential to solving the crime.
Labine said if Bacon’s instructions were to go ahead with a trial it would have further traumatized loved ones of Makayla Chang.
“To his credit he has not blamed anybody else,” Labine said. “He has taken full responsiblity for what he has done and he’s prepared to accept that punishment by way of guilty plea and the joint submission. That is a huge mitigating factor.”
Justice Baird spoke candidly to Makayla Chang’s family and friends, clarifying Bacon’s parole eligibility of 20 years doesn’t mean he gets out at 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.”
Justice Baird told Bacon he robbed a 16-year-old of the remaining years of her life.
“You have cast…sorrow and grief over her family and friends. You have caused serious and enduring damage to this community’s sense of safety, peace and tranquillity.”
Bacon was then escorted away in handcuffs and ankle restraints to serve punishment in federal prison.
He’ll be mandated to provide a DNA sample as part of his sentence.
Family and friends of Makayla Chang were seen hugging in the gallery, alongside visibly emotional Nanaimo RCMP officers who investigated the case.
Many of the approximately 50 people in attendance were shedding tears.
History of the investigation
The investigation into the disappearance of Makalya Chang and solving who was responsible for her death was a high profile case and top priority for Nanaimo RCMP.
Numerous vigils and public awareness events took place in the weeks, months and years following Makayla’s death.
Bacon was originally charged with first degree murder in September 2020, which also carried a life sentence and parole eligibility after a minimum of 25 years.
He was arrested in New Brunswick several months prior on an unrelated matter.
Bacon initially pleaded not guilty about five weeks after the murder charge was laid.
It wasn’t until August of last year Bacon pleaded guilty to a downgraded charge of second degree murder.
Investigators long labelled Bacon a person of interest rather than a suspect in Chang’s disappearance and death, which upset many people close to the victim and her family.
A preliminary inquiry, which was scheduled to last a week, in November 2021 only went a few hours.
Enough evidence was presented during the hearing for the case to proceed to trial, which was cancelled when Bacon pleaded guilty to second degree murder.
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