Not criminally responsible for murder: she said she “killed the devil”

Accused of stabbing a man to death in September 2023 in Quebec, Liliane Hubert was declared not criminally responsible for mental disorders on Friday.

• Read also: Man stabbed to death in Limoilou: 63-year-old woman charged with 2nd degree murder

The 64-year-old woman, detained at the University Institute of Mental Health of Quebec (IUSMQ), saw the judge approve Friday morning the parties’ suggestion to declare her not criminally responsible for the murder of Alexandre Drolet. This conclusion arises from a report by forensic psychiatrist Sébastien Proulx, unequivocally on the condition of the accused, who is in her tenth psychiatric hospitalization at the institute or at the Saint-Sacrement Hospital.

Her victim, with whom she had a tumultuous relationship, was found “in a pool of blood” on the morning of September 9.

It was Liliane Hubert herself who contacted the police, telling the dispatcher that she was “liberated from the devil”.

“She went on to say “love the satanic”. She talks about the Church, the Beatles and John Lennon. His remarks are disjointed, incoherent and exuberant,” explained M^e Andréanne Tremblay, Crown prosecutor on file.

“Kill the Devil”

Upon their arrival in the apartment located on the corner of 2^e Street and 4^e Avenue, in the Limoilou district, the police found Alexandre Drolet inert, injured by a knife.

On site, Liliane Hubert, still disorganized, told them that she had “killed the devil”.

“She had a lot of blood on her, on her face and on her clothes,” explained M^e Tremblay.

During her interrogation, the sixty-year-old made statements to investigators, explaining that she had offered the victim “a game with a knife” earlier in the night of September 8 to 9, but that the latter had refused. She admitted to having stabbed him later, while he was sleeping, “since daylight had to stop”.

Regrets

The accused expressed her regrets to the relatives of Alexandre Drolet present in the courtroom on Friday morning. By videoconference from the IUSMQ, Liliane Hubert confided that she never believed that something similar could happen.

The woman and Mr. Drolet had known each other for around ten years and their relationship was “complex, toxic and tinged with ambiguity”.

“Alexander is always in my heart. Alexandre is no longer here, but it’s as if I’m no longer here either,” she told the victim’s mother and sister, claiming not to be dangerous.

This is also the conclusion reached by the Mental Disorders Review Commission in 2019, after M^me Hubert was found not criminally responsible in a death threats case. The commission described it at that time as not being a significant risk to public safety.

Schizoaffective disorder

However, Liliane Hubert has suffered from mental disorders since the 1980s, concludes the D^r Sébastien Proulx, his problems having worsened over the years.

Her delusions included constant references to Satan and Jesus or a fixation on John Lennon, while she sometimes introduced herself as “Liliane Lennon Hubert”.

The D^r Proulx believes that at the time of the murder, she was “decompensated from a major mental disorder.” She was suffering from an exacerbated schizoaffective disorder of the bipolar type, accompanied by a significant presence of psychotic symptoms.

“[Ces éléments] may have distorted his ability to judge the consequences of his actions,” concludes the doctor.

Not criminally responsible for the murder of Alexandre Drolet, Liliane Hubert could now be declared a “high-risk offender”. This is the request that the Crown prosecutor intends to file in the coming weeks.