” [Jérémy] didn’t deserve this at all. No one deserves to go through what I did. I regret a lot, ”says Stéphanie Meunier. Fourteen years after beating, martyring and then killing her husband’s 4-year-old son, the murderous stepmother enjoys almost daily outings from the penitentiary.
The death of little Jérémy Bastien-Perron in December 2008 shocked the whole of Quebec. The trial of Stéphanie Meunier had revealed that the toddler had suffered treatment worthy of Aurore the martyred child at the hands of his stepmother. There was talk of flogging, biting and missing fingernails. The boy’s body was so bruised that experts had never seen anything like it on a child.
Stéphanie Meunier was found guilty by a jury in 2011 of first degree murder – due to the background of harassment – and was therefore sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
PHOTO FROM THE FACEBOOK PAGE “IN MEMORY OF JÉRÉMY”
Jeremy Bastien-Perron, 4 years old
The 43-year-old murderer approached the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) for the first time since 2018 to renew her temporary absences. For nearly five years, the Commission has allowed Stéphanie Meunier to leave the penitentiary, under supervision, for various reasons. Note that this is not about his conditional release.
Hands crossed on the table, a long braid falling over her shoulder, Stéphanie Meunier answered questions from the commissioners on Thursday in a posed voice. She bluntly repeated that she lived “a lot of shame” in relation to her actions. At trial, she claimed her innocence.
“How do you explain this gratuitous and repetitive violence against a child, to the point that he died? How does one come to accumulate anger at this point and not stop? asked commissioner Jessie Landry-Marquis.
“I had the accumulation for many years. Jeremy suffered the consequences. I am not able to tell you what brought me to that moment. I was not responsible for taking care of myself, let alone my children and Jeremy. I know that the right thing would have been to send my children to the DPJ, ”replied Stéphanie Meunier.
“But not for a moment did you say to yourself: it doesn’t make sense, it has to stop? “, then added the commissioner.
“Honestly, I don’t remember thinking that to myself. I had a moment that I didn’t want to keep Jeremy with me. I didn’t set my limit, I kept Jeremy and continued to bully him. I was violent with it. I do not know why. I had no red flags. Today, I know, I should have seen that. But I didn’t have these tools, I wasn’t able to take care of myself,” said Stéphanie Meunier.
The offender claims to know what to do today to “never do something like that again”: avoid bad company, not accumulate emotions and not fall back into consumption, she explains.
Stéphanie Meunier’s numerous requests for outings, however, raised eyebrows between the commissioners during the hearing.
“What is requested is a lot of releases, a lot of programs. Madame is not eligible for day parole for seven years. It’s a busy schedule, ”questioned a commissioner. “We got there, going out for five days [par semaine] ? added the other commissioner. They finally granted all releases to the offender, who presents a low risk of recidivism.
In fact, Stéphanie Meunier finds herself in society four to five days a week as part of her permissions for “personal development”, for “community services” or to see her four children. The offender’s numerous outings in recent years have gone well, according to her case team, and are helping her reintegrate into society.
In the coming months, the murderer plans to take advantage of the “faint hope” clause in the hope of convincing a jury to advance her parole eligibility date, scheduled for 2033.
Nevertheless, Stéphanie Meunier believes she “deserves” her current sentence. “I take it completely,” she says. “If one day they decide to let me out early, I’ll be happy. But otherwise, I will say to myself: I will continue to learn. Lots of people around me will help me, ”she concludes.