Pierre Ny St-Amand, who is accused of killing two children last year by ramming a bus into a Laval daycare, was summoned to trial at the end of his preliminary investigation.
Thursday, Judge François Landry of the Court of Quebec determined that the evidence offered over four days by the Crown was “sufficient” to continue the criminal proceedings brought against him and hold a trial.
The 52-year-old faces nine charges, including two counts of first-degree murder and others for attempted murder and aggravated assault.
In addition to the two toddlers aged 4 and 5 killed on February 8, 2023, six other children were injured when the Société de transport de Laval (STL) bus he was driving crashed into the daycare building educational Sainte-Rose.
During the preliminary investigation stage — which aims to test the strength of the evidence held by the Crown — around ten witnesses were heard.
The Crown prosecutor, Me Karine Dalphond called police officers, a psychiatrist and members of Pierre Ny St-Amand’s family to the stand. A publication ban prevents the media from reporting what was said there.
At a preliminary inquiry, the Crown’s burden of proof is not “beyond a reasonable doubt” as it is at trial. “The degree of proof required is not high,” recalled Judge Landry. The criminal code also provides that the judge must “commit the accused to stand trial, if in his opinion the evidence regarding the offense with which he is accused or any other criminal act arising of the same matter is sufficient. »
The accused was deemed fit to stand trial but his mental state was the subject of psychiatric assessments, the content of which will be revealed later.
Trial dates will be chosen in April.
To watch on video