Found guilty of the murder of Clémence Beaulieu-Patry last July at the end of his second trial, Randy Tshilumba is demanding a new trial. He accuses the judge of numerous errors of law. An appeal that further postpones the conclusion of this saga.
On April 10, 2016, Clémence Beaulieu-Patry was the victim of a femicide. A gratuitous and extremely violent murder, committed at her workplace, by a former classmate whose advances she had rejected a few days earlier. Randy Tshilumba stabbed the young woman 14 times in less than 20 seconds before fleeing.
In 2017, Randy Tshilumba was found guilty of first-degree murder. But the Quebec Court of Appeal ordered a new trial in 2022 due to errors made by the judge. This summer, the second trial ended the same way: guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
The defense, however, appealed the verdict last month. In the notice of appeal filed with the Court of Appeal, the defense accuses Judge Alexandre Bien-Aimé of giving instructions to the jury that were “too long, cumbersome and complex.”
Between the two trials, the police discovered new evidence: notes written by Tshilumba on his phone. In them, he had noted that he had to “Invent[r] a solid story for the police.” An element which strengthened the Crown’s evidence of premeditation.
The defense, however, criticizes Judge Bien-Aimé for allowing the Crown to use these notes to support their thesis. Also, according to the Tshilumba camp, the judge should not have admitted into evidence certain writings by the accused. On appeal, Mr.e Philippe-Antoine Larochelle and Me Veronique Talbot represents Tshilumba.
It may take several months, or even years, before the Court of Appeal’s decision is known.