A man has a pizza delivered to strangers’ homes. Three days later, the same man forced his way into the house and terrorized its occupant. The shirt that the man wore at the pizzeria is decisive: it is the same one that Jean-Pierre Bellemare wore during his police interrogation, nine months later.
At least that’s what the Crown intends to demonstrate to the jury during the trial of Jean-Pierre Bellemare, which opened Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse. The 57-year-old man is charged with home invasion. He allegedly forced his way into the house of a Montreal-North notary in September 2018 with the help of an unidentified accomplice.
That morning, Claude Germain was alone at home. His partner, Micheline Ouellette, a notary – since retired – has just left for work. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Claude Germain barely has time to open it when he is forcefully pushed by an assailant. “I was stunned when I entered the table,” he testified.
Stunned, Claude Germain saw the intruders for a split second before being blindfolded with adhesive tape and handcuffed. When he complains that the handcuffs are too tight, one of the men shouts to him in English: “I’m going to kill you.” The other man speaks to him in French, he says.
When he was uncuffed, Claude Germain felt something behind him. “I thought it was a gun. I was scared,” he told the jury.
The intruders ask him where the jewelry and money are, but they seem particularly interested in his partner. When an attacker sees the photo of a policewoman – his partner’s daughter – on a bookcase, his attitude seems to change. They left shortly after, telling him that his partner “was going to pay”.
According to the Crown’s theory, Jean-Pierre Bellemare was one of the two attackers. Moreover, three days before the home invasion, Bellemare allegedly went to a pizzeria to have a pizza delivered to the Germain-Ouellette couple – who had not ordered anything.
Nine months later, questioned by the police, Jean-Pierre Bellemare wore exactly the same shirt as the man who ordered this pizza, says the Crown.
During his police interrogation, Jean-Pierre Bellemare wrote a letter of apology in which he wrote: “I am seriously ill who thought I would kidnap you for ransom.” He then apologizes for having “hurt” his victim.
Two other key elements of the evidence: an American customs officer found a piece of adhesive tape in Bellemare’s car. Claude Germain’s DNA was there, according to the Crown.
Another “very important” element in the eyes of the Crown: Jean-Pierre Bellemare lets believe during interrogation that he knew that the photo of the policewoman was placed on the library, even though the investigator had not told him the location.
Daniel Royer presides over this trial. Me Emilie Serdakowski defends the accused.