Gisèle Itale Betondi feared her ex-husband. She had just gotten out of his clutches. But after leaving prison, her executioner warned her: he was going to kill her. And that’s what he did. He stalked her and stabbed her. A horror scene filmed on camera in front of a neighbor.
It is this terrifying topo that the Crown presented to the jury Thursday at the start of the trial of Hosea Amorus Puhya at the Montreal courthouse. The 51-year-old man is charged with the first degree murder of his ex-wife and mother of their three children. The woman was stabbed in front of her home in September 2022 in LaSalle.
“I’m going to kill you, I’m going to put a knife in your stomach and you’re going to die. »
This is what Hosea Amorus Puhya allegedly said to his ex-wife in January 2022 following his arrest for non-compliance with conditions. A month earlier, Gisèle Itale Betondi had had enough of their “difficult” relationship and left him. The man had difficulty accepting the breakup, Crown prosecutor M told the jurye Jade Coderre in her introductory presentation.
Gisèle Itale Betondi took advantage of her ex-husband’s stay in prison to move to the borough of LaSalle, in Montreal. The woman thought she was safe since Puhya did not know the address. But he traced her using a geolocation app, according to the Crown’s theory.
“Only four days before the murder he called the victim. He blamed her for sleeping with another man. He told her that the next time he sees her, he is going to kill her. We are going to hear this conversation,” stressed Mr.e Coderre, who teams up with Me Philippe Vallières-Rolland.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Relatives of Gisèle Itale Betondi at the Montreal courthouse.
According to surveillance videos that will be presented at the trial, a man can be seen lurking in the area of the victim’s residence the day before the murder. The accused’s phone was also spotted in the area. On the morning of the murder, the victim particularly feared for his safety.
“She was right to be afraid, since the accused was spying on her, waiting patiently to kill her,” said Me Coderre.
It was when Gisèle Itale Betondi went outside to take her children back to daycare that her ex-husband took action, according to the Crown. The murder was captured on a surveillance camera. We see a man come out of a wooded area, approach the victim and stab him to death. All this under the horrified eyes of a neighbor and friend of the victim who will testify at the trial.
The Crown plans to present its evidence in two weeks. A dozen witnesses are expected before Judge Catherine Perreault of the Superior Court.
Me Antonio Cabral defends the accused.