Describing himself as a “good person” and claiming to be a victim too, a father from Châteauguay who attacked his spouse by stabbing her 15 times in addition to injuring his children was sentenced to nearly nine years in prison .
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“It was not easy, as much for me as for her. She’s not just the victim. Let’s hope that one day, we will want to forgive each other, ”said the 34-year-old accused two weeks ago at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse. The man, whose identity we will withhold to protect that of his children, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm to his wife and two young children .
Judge Joey Dubois rebuffed the accused, accusing him of not grasping the seriousness of what he had done.
“You are the one who gave those stab wounds, no one else,” he said firmly. Madame is not responsible for that and that is what you will have to understand one day.
Knife under his sheets
The facts took place at the family home on January 15. The accused, who had been sleeping in a separate bedroom in the basement for some time, had hidden a knife under his sheets in his bed. That evening, his wife discovered him as they were discussing their day. It was at this point that the tension rose and an altercation between the two arose. The man then grabbed her by the neck, to the point where she could no longer breathe or speak. While trying to defend herself, she injured her hand with the knife.
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The duo then moved to the ground floor, where the situation completely degenerated. The accused stabbed his wife numerous times, mainly in the back of the neck, but also in the chest, neck, arm and face. No less than 12 broken knives were found around the victim, in addition to an impressive amount of blood, according to the summary of the facts read by the prosecutor.
In front of the children
The height of horror is that this appalling scene took place in front of the couple’s children, who had woken up to the sound of their mother’s screams.
They begged their father to let her go and two of them even tried to intervene to defend her. They too suffered lacerations trying to stop their father’s madness.
“I almost died, but I’m still here,” the mother said in heartbreaking courtroom testimony. The scars on my body, I see them. They remind me of the aggressiveness of a man I lived with for 16 years of my life. I will stay strong to take care of my children. [Ils] are all I have right now. I will stay here and there is nothing that will stop me, not even 15 stab wounds.
The accused cited mental health issues during the court proceedings and even attempted to demonstrate that he was not criminally responsible. However, a forensic report showed that this was not the case.
Judge Dubois endorsed the parties’ joint suggestion and sentenced the father to an eight-and-a-half-year prison term.