Jacob Gauthier, 4 and a half years old, and Maëva David, 5 years old, were killed on February 8, 2023. (Archive photo)
Tragedy in Laval
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Tragedy in Laval
Consult the complete file
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Pierre Ny St-Amand was there, handcuffed. His lawyer asked that he not be handcuffed so that he could take notes. He seemed calm, focused and both emotionless and dejected, looking at the audience quite steadily as he entered the courtroom.
13 witnesses called by the Crown will be heard during the preliminary investigation, including work colleague, neighbor and parent of children. A psychologist and a psychiatrist will also be called to testify, as will the driver's spouse.
For l' ;criminal lawyer Nada Boumeftah, the presence of the latter may raise eyebrows.
There are still rules regarding the spouse to testify. We will see what will be applicable or not and, above all, the relevance of having it. Will this be raised in defense or not?
A quote from Nada Boumeftah, criminal lawyer
If this is not the case, we can indeed think that this witness will be there to give a portrait of this individual in everyday life, he said. she told Isabelle Richer on RDI.
Shortly after his arrest, the driver was found competent to stand trial, despite numerous speculations regarding his state of mental health. Another assessment carried out by the Philippe-Pinel Institute aimed at determining the man's mental state at the time of the tragedy was submitted under seal a few weeks later.
On the day of the tragedy, witnesses said that the driver seemed to be in a rage and took off all his clothes before trying to leave his vehicle. The same day, he appeared from a room at the Sacré-Cœur Hospital, under the guard of police officers. He attacked one of them, forcing a halt to the court proceedings for about 20 minutes.
In September, his lawyer, Mr. Julien Lspérance, told journalists that he would argue at the next hearing that his client should not face trial, but refused to provide more details on the reasons he intends to invoke.
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L' lawyer for Pierre Ny St-Amand, Me Julien Lspérance. (File photo)
If there were to be a trial in this case, it should take place at fall 2024.
Proceedings against him have been postponed several times. Last August, the Crown notably requested more time to disclose evidence.
With information from Aimée Lemieux and Isabelle Richer
Philippe Granger (View profile)Philippe GrangerSuivre
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116