Éric Levasseur was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole before 18 years, for the murder of his partner in Notre-Dame-des-Monts, in the Charlevoix region, in March 2021.
“The actions of the accused demonstrate a cold insensitivity and a total lack of respect for the human person. »
Judge Carl Thibault of the Superior Court delivered his sentence Thursday morning at the La Malbaie courthouse. In February, the 49-year-old man was found guilty of the second-degree murder of his partner Carolyne Labonté, 40 years old.
The murder charge automatically carries a life sentence. All that remained was for the judge to determine the minimum period of time he would spend behind bars before being eligible to apply for parole.
The defense had suggested 13 years, and the Crown a period of between 18 and 20 years. Judge Thibault opted for 18 years.
Mitigating factors are “almost non-existent,” he writes.
He maintains that he shot his partner and mother of his three children in the head while she was at home in the bathroom, then tried to cover up his death as a suicide. He killed her with a prohibited weapon, in the context of domestic violence, both of which are aggravating factors that the judge must take into account when determining the length of the incarceration sentence.
“There is no need to remind you that femicide and domestic violence crimes are a scourge in our society. The accused, instead of resolving his jealousy and behavioral problems, committed the irreparable by behaving like a coward, leaving his own children without their mother. Courts must enhance the confidence of victims and the public in the administration of justice. »
Levasseur can appeal this sentence, as he already did his guilty verdict.