Toronto, Ontario – On April 3, 2024, Brendan Bananish, a 37-year-old man originally from Sault Ste. Marie, was declared a long-term offender in a Toronto court after a series of violent acts against women.
Bananish, who already had 10 convictions for assaulting women, committed a horrific crime in 2020 when he repeatedly stabbed the mother of four of his children in a Toronto motel room. He then callously left her there to bleed out, showing a shocking level of brutality.
It took the victim 12 agonizing hours to make her way to a hallway, where she was finally discovered and taken to the hospital. She endured 21 days of treatment for 11 knife wounds, two spinal fractures, and a chest injury caused by the attack.
Justice Andrew Pinto, in his decision, remarked on the escalating violence of Bananish’s offenses in 2019 and 2020. During a four-day hearing, various reports and assessments were examined, including a psychiatric diagnosis indicating a significant risk of re-offending by Bananish.
Originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Bananish had moved to Brantford as a teenager, where he developed a pattern of heavy drinking that began at the age of 12. His criminal record started accumulating in 2006 for assaults and breaching orders.
In 2019, a disturbing incident involving a semi-automatic rifle in Bananish’s possession resulted in a 15-month sentence. Justice Colette Good expressed particular concern over Bananish’s threat to shoot police if they came to his house during that incident.
Despite a court order to stay away from his victim, Bananish moved into her home in Sault Ste. Marie in October 2020. The violent episode in the Toronto hotel room, where he stabbed the woman while under the influence, led to his arrest the next day in Brantford.
In the sentencing, Pinto ruled for Bananish to serve seven years and three months in custody as a long-term offender. With credit for time served, Bananish is expected to spend an additional 24 months in a federal penitentiary. The designation of a long-term offender will remain in effect for the next eight years, reflecting the severity of Bananish’s crimes.