The landscape contractor accused of having killed his spouse last week in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is finally fit to appear before a judge, we learned Friday at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse. Pascal Arseneault had made confused remarks about “the end of the world” after his arrest.
Posted at 1:35 p.m.
Last Friday, Judge Sylvain Lépine ordered the assessment of the mental state of the 49-year-old man for a period of five days to ensure his ability to appear in court.
“Mr. Arseneault makes comments that may seem coherent at first glance, but he speaks of an external reality and speaks of himself in the third person. I strongly doubt his contact with reality. It seems problematic, “said Mr.and Marc-André Desnoyers, from the defence.
PHOTO FROM LOUISE AVON’S FACEBOOK ACCOUNT
Pascal Arseneault, in 2012. He accused of having killed his spouse Louise Avon in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts on March 31, 2022.
In a brief hearing Friday before Judge Kathlyn Gauthier, Crown prosecutor Mand Alexandre Dubois announced that the accused was now “fit to appear”, without giving further details. The cause must return on April 22.
The circumstances of this alleged feminicide remain unclear. The police discovered the remains of Louise Avon in the ruins of their residence in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts on the night of March 31 to the 1er april. The residence surrounded by a wooded area was completely destroyed by fire.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The body of the victim, Louise Avon, is transported from the crime scene.
This is a murder committed in a context of “domestic violence”, according to the Crown.
Pascal Arseneault and Louise Avon had been co-owners for several years of a landscaping company, Les Pas Verts du Nord.
Mand Marie-Ève Duplessis represented the accused.