A “deeply unhappy” man. A man who was “running away from reality.” A desperate man who used his F-150 pickup truck “as a weapon” to take his own life, instantly killing an innocent man in a standoff. The Crown painted a ruthless portrait of the accused Jano Vincent on Wednesday during closing arguments.
“The prosecution’s best witness is the accused, Jano Vincent.”
It is with this strong formula that the Crown prosecutor Me Steve Baribeau began his closing arguments Wednesday in the trial of Jano Vincent, who is accused of second-degree murder in the death of Robert Campion. According to the Crown, the accused is its “best witness,” since he told three people that he wanted to commit suicide, in addition to confessing his intentions in a letter.
On October 6, 2019, while driving his F-150, Jano Vincent crashed into the victim’s recreational vehicle at over 100 km/h on Highway 50. Robert Campion died instantly, while Jano Vincent was seriously injured. According to the Crown, the accused intentionally caused the collision, while the defence argues that it was an accident.
PHOTO FILED IN COURT
On the left is the recreational vehicle driven by the victim, Robert Campion. On the right is the Ford F-150 driven by Jano Vincent.
To prove Jano Vincent’s guilt, the Crown has a delicate task: proving the accused’s suicidal intentions on the day of the collision. Jano Vincent, in fact, denies having wanted to commit suicide that day. He had “plans for the future” and his life was going “well,” he said at trial.
On the contrary, Jano Vincent’s life was in turmoil in October 2019, according to the Crown. His ex-partner had just announced to him, two days earlier, that she was dating someone new. In addition, a bitter conflict with his parents, over the sale of a house, had been festering for years in court.
Suicide letter at heart of trial
The centerpiece of the prosecution’s evidence is the 15-page suicide note written by Jano Vincent in August 2020, a few months after the collision. He had swallowed dozens of pills at the time. In his “merciless” missive to his parents, Jano Vincent “confirms that he tried to commit suicide on October 6, 2019,” the Crown argues.
“Now I am handicapped because of you, because I wanted to end my shitty life that you made me live,” wrote Jano Vincent.
PHOTO FILED AS EVIDENCE
Excerpt from Jano Vincent’s 2020 suicide letter
According to Me Baribeau, this letter has a “reliability and sincerity that is hard to beat.” “What could be stronger than a letter expressing our emotions that we write when we think we are going to die? What is more reliable than that?”, the prosecutor emphasizes.
In court, Jano Vincent explained that he wrote the letter to “please” his ex-partner, and even to make her “proud.” “I wrote things that she told me every day,” he told the jury. An “implausible” version, according to the Crown.
“He cannot contradict [la lettre]. The toothpaste cannot fit into the tube. End of story “, said M.e Baribeau.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Crown prosecutors Me Steve Baribeau (right) and Me Alexandre Dubois (left)
The accused’s ex-partner, Julie Léveillé, recounted at the trial that she had received Jano Vincent’s confidences after he came out of his coma. “He told me he wanted to take his own life on Highway 50. That he wanted to die. That he couldn’t take it anymore. He told me that right there,” she testified last month.
Me Baribeau reminded the jury that Jano Vincent had told three witnesses that he had wanted to commit suicide. “He himself confirmed that he had confessed to Mr.me “Léveillé,” argued the Crown prosecutor, who is teaming up with Mr.e Alexander Dubois.
On Tuesday, defense attorney Me Robert Bellefeuille suggested that the jury favour the accident theory. According to Jano Vincent – who has no memory of the collision – it is “plausible” that he simply dropped his breathalyzer at his feet on the motorway. He would have thus accidentally deviated from his lane, according to his hypothesis.
“Do you believe Jano Vincent when he tells you that he doesn’t remember anything about the collision, when the evidence shows that he spoke to several people about it?” asked Mr.e Baribeau.
The Crown’s arguments continue Wednesday afternoon before Judge Mario Longpré.