VICTORIA -- A five-day preliminary inquiry has been tentatively set for Steven Bacon, the man who has been charged with the first-degree murder of Nanaimo teen Makayla Chang.
The dates for the inquiry, scheduled for Nov. 1 – 5, were set in a Nanaimo courtroom on Friday morning. Bacon was present via phone from a correctional facility in North Bay Ontario, where he is currently being held on four unrelated charges, including incest and sexual assault.
Bacon’s council requested the preliminary hearing be done virtually. Crown council immediately opposed the request and called for Bacon to be brought to Nanaimo for the inquiry.
Outside the courthouse, Makayla Chang’s father, Kerry Chang, said Crown reassured him that Bacon will be brought to Nanaimo.
“I can’t give you an honest answer on how my reaction is going to be,” Chang said about seeing Bacon for the first time.
The dates for the preliminary inquiry should be confirmed shortly and the case has been adjourned until Nov. 1, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. in a Nanaimo courtroom.
Makayla Chang was 16-years-old when she disappeared in 2017.
In late 2020, Bacon pled not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in her death.
