The mother of young Alexandre Livernoche, whose sordid assassination in August 2000 shook Quebec, fumes at the idea that the murderer of her son, Mario Bastien, could ask to be released from prison after two decades behind bars.
“He has to stay inside, protests Sylvie Girard. My life is broken. For me, it feels like it happened today. »
Archival photo
During the trial, all eyes were on Sylvie Girard, the mother of Alexandre Livernoche.
Joined by The newspaperthe 61-year-old Trifluvienne was furious to learn that the murderer of her son, Mario Bastien, could apply for semi-conditional release since August 9.
Although the murderer was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of release for 25 years, the day parole is intended to prepare him for an eventual full parole.
This could allow him to participate in community activities while being housed in a prison or community facility.
On August 4, 2000, 13-year-old Alexandre Livernoche met up with Bastien during a day of picking cucumbers on a farm.
After kidnapping the boy, Bastien sexually assaulted him and inflicted numerous injuries, including several stab wounds, before burying his body in a sandpit in Sorel-Tracy.
Alexander’s body was found five days later.
In mid-August, when Bastien had been arrested and put behind bars, he joined The newspaper to confess and detail his crime.
Archival photo
The front page of the Journal de Montréal of August 16, 2000, after the assassin had confessed his murder to a journalist.
” A monster “
The daily then headlined on its front page (view the photo) a chilling quote from the murderer: “I am a monster”.
A series of revelations then shocked Quebec.
Archival photo
The case had shocked the entire Quebec population. Citizens had gone to the sand pit where the body of the victim had been found.
It is that a few months before committing the irreparable, Mario Bastien was behind bars for various crimes, including fraud, but he had been released from prison due to prison overcrowding.
However, a 1997 report from the Canadian National Liberation Commission considered Bastien to be a dangerous pedophile.
However, this document had not been sent to the Quebec Commission on Conditional Liberation, reported La Presse in 2004.
This information thus forced the National Assembly to look into the functioning of the prison system.
sharp pain
“The one who released him, I never knew who it was,” plague Sylvie Girard, judging that the government should still today look into the flaws in this file.
Through these roller coasters, the mother of three children, who does not believe in the possible rehabilitation of Bastien, recounts having lived through dark periods since the death of her son.
“I no longer existed, I no longer went out, I no longer ate”.
Struck daily by memories of Alexandre, she will never be able to completely grieve.
“If you knew how much I miss him, she raises. This trauma is lifelong. »
The mere possibility that a criminal could get out of prison can arouse strong emotions in the relatives of a victim, agrees Arlène Gaudreault, president of the Association québécoise Plaidoyer-Victimes.
“It brings them back to something very painful,” she says. They do not necessarily trust the decisions that are going to be made [par les autorités]. »
♦ The Parole Board of Canada says no review is currently scheduled to assess the release of Mario Bastien, 51, who is imprisoned for premeditated murder. He will be eligible for full parole in 2025.
The Mario Bastien affair in four key points
CONFESSIONS
Mario Bastien had taken the time to call a journalist from Log from his cell to recount the sordid circumstances of the murder of young Alexandre Livernoche. But he had also confessed after long hours during a police interrogation.
“It was a long time before he told me about his crime from start to finish. Then when he tells you what he was able to do, your heart lifts. But you have to stay stoic, ask questions, “said in 2017 to the Log ex-investigator Roberto Bergeron, who spent a total of nearly 20 hours with the criminal.
The video interrogation of an accused was a recent procedure, therefore little known to the public. Some, who watched this video at the time, say they are still impressed today.
TROUBLED PAST
The disturbing story of Mario Bastien was revealed during his trial. He was born of an incestuous relationship between his mother and her father.
It was also revealed that he had been sexually abused during his youth.
LEGAL BATTLE
The legal battle between the Livernoches and the Quebec government was marked by lengthy negotiations.
In 2006, the family obtained the sum of $90,000 in an out-of-court settlement, far from the $850,000 requested in the lawsuit.
DESCENT INTO HELL
The murder of young Alexander has greatly affected those close to him.
In 2010, The newspaper reported that the father, André Livernoche, now deceased, lived in a truck and had to beg water and electricity from a friend.
He was then financially ruined and had major health problems, we wrote.