A septuagenarian from Granby who had already won $1 million in the lottery was sentenced to four years in prison for the manslaughter by gunshot of his stepson, who constantly begged him for money.
“The victim did not have an easy temper and often begged for money [à sa mère et à l’accusé]. The money received was never enough and he became aggressive and threatening when he didn’t get what he wanted, especially when he had taken narcotics,” said Me Nicolas Cossette, who defended Mario Monast.
The 73-year-old became a millionaire in 2003 after winning the lottery.
Half a million donated
He had a difficult relationship with the victim, Steeve Marquis, who died on August 3, 2019 during an argument. He took the opportunity to demand money from his stepfather all the time, so that over the years, he would have given him $ 550,000, according to the joint summary of the facts read yesterday.
On several occasions, Steeve Marquis threatened to file a complaint for sexual assaults he allegedly suffered during his youth.
The victim’s mother would never have known about such a situation. It was never said yesterday in court whether the abuse had indeed occurred.
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Three bongs
The day before the tragedy, the accused was twice asked for money by his son-in-law and gave him a total of $260.
On the morning of August 3, 2019, the then 51-year-old victim allegedly attacked the accused by grabbing him by the throat.
The septuagenarian would have pushed him away and seeing that he was trying to attack him again, then grabbed a handgun which was nearby, to shoot at close range.
“Madame is awakened by a bang, followed by two other detonations”, described Me Nicolas Cossette.
The accused, who has Parkinson’s disease, which may have exacerbated his loss of control that day, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and another count of careless storage of a weapon fire.
Judge Charles Ouellet endorsed the common suggestion of four years imprisonment, the minimum sentence.
Considering preventive detention, Monast will be three years and two months behind bars. He did not speak in court, other than to acknowledge the veracity of the factual framework read before the magistrate.
Upon his release from the penitentiary, he will be prohibited from possessing weapons for 10 years and restricted weapons for the rest of his life.