In a ruling announced on Tuesday, the Quebec Court of Appeal has mandated a retrial for Carl Girouard, the individual previously convicted of first-degree murder following the Quebec City sword assaults on Halloween night in 2020. The victims of the attack were François Duchesne, aged 56, and Suzanne Clermont, aged 61.
Back in 2022, a jury of 11 members reached a verdict after nearly five days of deliberation. Girouard was also found guilty of five counts of attempted murder for targeting five additional individuals that same evening. Originally hailing from Sainte-Thérèse, Que., in the Laurentians, the then-24-year-old confessed to perpetrating the assaults. However, his defense team contended that due to his mental state at the time, he should not be held criminally accountable – a stance refuted by the jurors.
During his police interrogations post-arrest, Girouard opted to remain silent, a choice the prosecution asserted as evidence against his impaired mental state. Conversely, his defense argued that his silence supported their case.
The Court of Appeal determined that the judge failed to provide a specific directive concerning the restricted use of Girouard’s right to silence. This omission, as per the ruling issued on Tuesday, compromised the trial’s fairness, particularly in relation to Girouard’s mental disorder defense. Consequently, the Court of Appeal sided with Girouard, leading to the reversal of the initial guilty verdict.
In response to the decision, Quebec’s public prosecutor’s office informed Radio-Canada via email that they are carefully reviewing the court’s ruling and refraining from commenting on the case at this juncture.