Marie-Josée Viau, found guilty of conspiracy and second-degree murder of brothers Giuseppe and Vincenzo Falduto, will be able to regain her freedom pending further appeal proceedings, a judge at the Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday. .
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
According to information obtained by The Pressthe court came to the conclusion that the principal concerned is not a danger to the safety of the public, and that the latter would not be shocked by her temporary release.
In February, M.me Viau had been sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole for 12 years, for the murders of the brothers Vincenzo and Giuseppe Falduto, committed in the garage of his property in Saint-Jude, near Saint-Hyacinthe, at the summer 2016. However, the decision was appealed by the defense.
Among the mitigating factors, the judge considered that Marie-Josée Viau led a tidy and active life before meeting an individual linked to traditional Italian organized crime who led her “down a dangerous road”. He also said the chances of rehabilitation were good and the chances of reoffending were low.
Last Thursday, the Viau clan went to the Court of Appeal to ask that the 47-year-old woman regain her freedom. This is precisely what has just been granted to him. She had been detained at the Joliette Women’s Penitentiary since the verdict was delivered.
Marie-Josée Viau should therefore be released by the end of the day on Tuesday. Her spouse Guy Dion had for his part been acquitted in this case, and is already free.
Defense relieved
“We welcome this decision with great satisfaction and great relief”, reacted Tuesday the lawyer of Marie-Josée Viau, Me Mylène Lareau, when reached by telephone, stating that more details surrounding the judge’s decision will be known soon.
Recall that Viau and Dion were arrested in 2019 following a major investigation by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) called Préméditer, during which a hitman, who became a civil undercover agent (ACI) for the police, recorded the couple without their knowledge. The ACI, who suffers from mental health problems, had not been easy to control for the investigators of the SQ. His lengthy testimony during the trial was also punctuated by memorable mood swings.
The Falduto brothers were killed on June 30, 2016 on the property of Marie-Josée Viau and her spouse Guy Dion by this mafia hitman, accompanied by another man whose identity we must conceal. The murderer and his companion would have acted on behalf of the late clan leader of the Montreal mafia Salvatore Scoppa.
Three years later, the hitman collaborated with the Sûreté du Québec. He recorded Marie-Josée Viau and Guy Dion without their knowledge during the summer of 2019 and the couple was arrested the following October.
Viau and Dion were originally charged with conspiracy and the first degree murders of the Falduto brothers. According to the lawsuit’s theory, the couple dismembered the bodies of the victims and burned them for long hours, in the open air, in addition to removing all traces of the crime.