The preliminary investigation will begin on March 25 for Pierre Ny St-Amand, the man accused of killing two children after a bus crashed into a daycare in Laval last February.
Defense lawyer Julien Lspérance Hudon declared Wednesday in court in Laval that he intended to contest the two counts of first-degree murder, on the grounds that his client did not have criminal intent.
The accused, aged 51, is still detained at the National Institute of Forensic Psychiatry Philippe-Pinel, in Montreal; he appeared Wednesday by videoconference. He said little, greeting his lawyer and later confirming to the judge that he understood the hearing date had been set.
The prosecutor in the case, Karine Dalphond, indicated that during the four days of the preliminary investigation hearing, she planned to call around ten witnesses to the stand.
“There will be mainly civilian witnesses who will be heard, psychiatrists, psychologists also who will be assigned to be heard at the preliminary investigation,” she indicated.
Members of the accused’s family will also be called to the stand, including the man’s wife, confirmed Me Dalphond.
The prosecutor specified that this stage of the preliminary investigation, which must determine whether there is sufficient evidence to hold a trial, will take place in Saint-Jérôme, because there is no courtroom available in Laval at that time.
“It’s difficult to obtain rooms in Laval quickly, so we want this to be fixed as quickly as possible, in these circumstances, we make ourselves available to go to another courthouse nearby,” she explained.
Bus driver for the Société de transport de Laval at the time of the accident, Pierre Ny St-Amand was arrested after a municipal bus hit the facade of a daycare in the Sainte-Rose district on February 8, killing two four-year-old children and injuring six others.
The accused was found fit to stand trial in February following a psychological evaluation conducted after his arrest.
A separate evaluation was later conducted on the defendant’s mental state at the time of his alleged crimes — whether he should be considered criminally responsible for his actions. The report of this evaluation was sealed by the court in April.