(Quebec) The jury will deliberate for a third day, Wednesday, at the trial of Carl Girouard, accused of having walked the streets of Old Quebec with a saber, on the evening of Halloween 2020, and of having killed two people and injured five others.
Posted at 7:45 p.m.
The 26-year-old man is accused of using a Japanese-style sword, called a “katana”, to kill François Duchesne, 56, and Suzanne Clermont, 61, on October 31, 2020.
He faces two charges of first degree murder and five counts of attempted murder.
The defendant has admitted to the attacks, but his lawyers maintain that he was not criminally responsible for his actions because of mental illness and that he could not separate right from wrong.
If the jurors do not accept the thesis of not criminal responsibility, they will have to determine what level of accusation to apply for the murders of François Duchesne and Suzanne Clermont: first degree murder, second degree murder or manslaughter.
The jury will also have to determine whether Girouard should be charged with attempted murder or another lesser charge for the attacks on the five injured.
The 11 jurors were sequestered on Monday after 17 days of hearings. Their first full day of deliberations took place on Tuesday.