Maxime Chicoine-Joubert was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 12 years for the “totally gratuitous” and “absurd” murder of Simon-Olivier Bendwell, an 18-year-old model student who was stabbed for no reason at the center- city of Montreal in the summer of 2019.
Posted at 4:43 p.m.
“This is a murder and an attack as absurd as it is incomprehensible, showing extreme violence, totally gratuitous and which denotes a marked anti-social mentality. Moreover, obviously, [l’accusé] does not bring any help to the victim since he leaves the scene of the crime with his friends in the seconds which follow the fatal gesture, ”concluded judge Marc-André Blanchard at the Montreal courthouse.
Simon-Olivier Bendwell was the victim of the murderous madness of Maxime Chicoine-Joubert, on the evening of July 28, 2019, in the Quartier des spectacles. The young man described as a “humanist” and a “peaceful” by his mother was simply walking on the sidewalk with a friend, when Chicoine-Joubert stabbed him in the back after a brief altercation. A scene partly filmed by surveillance cameras.
The Crown claimed a minimum period of 14 years of detention, against 10 years for the defense. In matters of second degree murder, the “general rule” is to impose a 10-year ineligibility period for parole. However, judge Blanchard retained many aggravating factors with regard to the murderer to deviate from this rule.
Thus, the judge considered the “extreme violence” of the crime, its gratuitousness, the criminal record of the accused and the fact that the victim was “sneakily” stabbed in the back. Justice Blanchard did not identify any significant mitigating factor.
“Maxime Chicoine-Joubert appears as an individual with a drug addiction problem which makes him unpredictable and, obviously, dangerous”, concludes the judge.
PHOTO FROM A VIDEO FILED IN EVIDENCE
On the right, the accused Maxime Chicoine-Joubert is armed with a knife and takes Alexander Fitchev by the collar in his right hand. The man in the white sweater, on the left, is Simon-Olivier Bendwell. He was stabbed seconds later.
The 26-year-old man was indeed extremely aggressive and intoxicated that evening. He had used cocaine with his friends and drank significant amounts of alcohol, including two bottles of vodka. A few minutes before killing Simon-Olivier Bendwell, he had invited a restaurant employee to fight. “Come fight! I am a caïd! “, he had vociferated.
The death of Simon-Olivier Bendwell has upset the life of his family, underlined the judge Blanchard. His parents, his sisters, his girlfriend and those close to him have all suffered significant psychological damage since the murder.
” [Le Tribunal] can only hope that time will ease the pain. The loss of a loved one in such absurd circumstances causes deep wounds. The Tribunal can only express its full sympathy for them,” said Judge Blanchard.
“It is as if the suffering [de la famille] was recognized by the judge,” commented Caroline Giguère, Simon-Olivier’s mother.
Almost three years after the death of her son, Caroline Giguère was relieved on Wednesday by the imposition of the sentence and the end of the legal proceedings. “It’s a relief, because we will be able to progress in mourning. It’s a progression, we will never have finished this process, ”she told La Presse.
Mand Katerine Brabant and Mand Louis Bouthillier represented the public ministry, while Mand Marie-Hélène Giroux defended the accused. Note that the defense appealed the jury’s guilty verdict.