Patrick Dussault sentenced to life in prison, without parole for 14 years
Patrick Dussault received his sentence at the Gatineau courthouse on Thursday. (File photo)
Patrick Dussault is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 14 years. The latter was found guilty, a second time, of the second degree murder of Diane Lahaie following the holding of a second trial.
Patrick Dussault received his sentence, Thursday, at the Gatineau courthouse.
The facts of which he was accused date back to July 2013. He went to his victim, Diane Lahaie, in Gatineau, after which an argument broke out. He then stabbed the 64-year-old woman multiple times and set fire to her residence.
Patrick Dussault was first sentenced in 2016. He has already served part of his sentence since he has been incarcerated since 2013. He could therefore apply for parole in 2027.
The Supreme Court of Canada, however, demanded a new trial last year, since it had ruled that the right of Patrick Dussault to consult his lawyer had been violated.
During the reading of the verdict on Thursday, Judge Catherine Mandeville recalled the level of violence of the crime, which constitutes an aggravating factor
Ms. Lahaie was an elderly, vulnerable person, killed in her home, with the use of two different weapons, one blunt and a knife. There is the number of blows inflicted, the presence of defense wounds, the insult to the corpse, the numerous backgrounds of the accused and the motive, she put forward.
She also questioned the degree of rehabilitation of Patrick Dussault since he was imprisoned, it is in particular for this reason that she ruled for a period of inadmissibility of 14 years to parole.
The defense had previously recommended a 10-year delay for Patrick Dussault to be eligible for parole, citing his efforts to deal with his substance abuse issues and graduate from high school.
Presenting the portrait of the accused as having evolved favorably since 2016, as the defense seeks to do, is not consistent with what is found in the progress reports. It is more accurate to consider that since he is [in the penitentiary] of Port-Cartier, the accused has evolved "a little more favorably", indicates judge Mandeville.
The Crown, for its part, requested a period of inadmissibility of 15 to 16 years, highlighting the level of dangerousness of the accused and his risk of recidivism, two factors which were attenuated by the magistrate.
The latter gave little credit to Patrick Dussault's apologies.
The court gave no weight to his apologies and the regrets expressed in beginning of the hearing, and transmitted via his lawyer, because they were done for convenience, to tick the box of elements that could help reduce the sentence, Judge Mandeville said.
The time limit for appealing the judgment is 30 days. We are indeed considering appealing the sentence, said Patrick Dussault's lawyer, Me Célia Hadid, by email.
The lawyer for the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, Me Marie-Claude Daoust, said she was satisfied with the sentence.
We do not intend to appeal this decision, she said in writing.
