The preliminary investigation of Pierre Ny St-Amand, who is accused of driving into a Laval daycare with the city bus he was driving in February 2023, is scheduled to begin Monday morning.
Two toddlers, Maëva and Jacob, were killed that day. Six other children were injured when the Société de transport de Laval (STL) bus crashed into the Ste-Rose educational daycare building.
Pierre Ny St-Amand, aged 52, was arrested at the scene: two counts of premeditated murder were brought against him as well as seven others, including attempted murder and aggravated assault.
Since the beginning, his mental state has been the subject of numerous questions: witnesses notably saw him take off his clothes after smashing the facade of the daycare.
However, the accused was found fit to stand trial following a psychiatric evaluation.
However, a separate assessment to determine the mental state in which he was at the time of his alleged crimes — to determine whether he was not criminally responsible for his actions due to mental disorders — was also carried out and was under seal by a judge in April. After his arrest, the accused was detained for a long time at the Philippe-Pinel National Institute of Legal Psychiatry in Montreal.
The preliminary investigation is expected to last a few days and will be held at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse. This stage aims to test the strength and solidity of the evidence held by the public prosecutor. The Crown prosecutor in this case, Me Karine Dalphond, had indicated her intention to call around ten witnesses, including psychiatrists and members of Pierre Ny St-Amand’s family.
At the end of this preliminary investigation, the judge will be able to decide whether to bring the accused to trial — or not.
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