Claude Charbonneau, who violently killed two men with an ax in August 2020, in Montreal, pleaded guilty to two murders, Thursday, at the Montreal courthouse, specifying himself that the two assassinations were premeditated.
Posted at 4:01 p.m.
“He explained that he had been planning these murders for 10 years,” says the agreed statement of facts which was read in court by defense lawyer Ms.and Emmanuelle Rhault.
Judge Hélène Di Salvo asked the 62-year-old whether he really intended to cause the deaths of Pierre Phaneuf, 68, and Theodoros Debeyiotis, 80. “That’s right, yes,” replied Charbonneau, calmly, handcuffed in the dock.
“You know you’re going to be detained for a very, very long time? “continued the judge.
COURTESY PHOTO
Claude Charbonneau
“For the rest of my life, confirmed the murderer. I knew the sentence before committing the act. »
By acknowledging these crimes, Charbonneau is guaranteed to receive a life sentence without the possibility of release for 25 years.
Claude Charbonneau worked for more than 20 years for Theodoros Debeyiotis as a janitor and handyman in the latter’s apartment buildings.
COURTESY PHOTO
Theodoros Lakis
Pierre Phaneuf was his neighbor, in a building belonging to Mr. Debeyiotis, on Henri-Bourassa Avenue, in the Ahuntsic district.
On August 4, 2020, Claude Charbonneau entered Mr. Phaneuf’s home and killed him with an ax to the head. He reproached her for her “alleged lack of respect for women”, explains the statement of facts.
The murderer then stole his victim’s car.
Second murder
The next day, he goes to his boss’s office, in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district, with the intention of killing him. As Mr. Debeyiotis is not alone, he postpones his plan.
On August 6, surveillance cameras filmed Charbonneau arriving on the scene. He wears gloves and holds an ax, hidden under a cloth. When his boss arrives, he follows him into his office and hits him in the head and back with his gun.
“The victim is found 10 minutes later, lying in his blood, by a tenant who came to pay his rent”, specifies the statement of the facts.
Charbonneau had previously told neighbors that he found Theodoros Debeyiotis “stingy and petty”.
After being the subject of a wanted notice, the man was arrested 13 days later in Trois-Rivières, driving Mr. Phaneuf’s vehicle.
He quickly confesses to the two murders, both to the police officers who arrest him and to the one who interrogates him.
“I am of sound mind and plead guilty. I killed them both with axes,” he said during his first court appearance.
Charbonneau repeated several times that he regretted nothing and that his goal was to take his own life after having spent the money stolen from the victims, approximately $7,000, mentions the statement of facts.
We also learn that his plan was to also kill the son of Theodoros Debeyiotis, Nick, but that the latter was outside Montreal at the time of the events.