Trial of Véronique Manceaux | Blaming medication for memory lapses, witness charged with contempt of court

New twist in the trial of Véronique Manceaux: a key Crown witness was cited for contempt of court due to her refusal to testify. The young murderer of Jimmy Méthot blamed taking medication to justify his memory lapses.

“I don’t understand how you can force me to testify about something that I no longer remember,” the witness defended Thursday.

Véronique Manceaux, 38, is accused of the first degree murder of Jimmy Méthot. The Crown accuses him of having tortured, beaten and murdered the victim in September 2021 in his Lachine residence. According to the prosecution’s theory, a 17-year-old teenager hit Jimmy Méthot several times during this bloody evening. He even allegedly prevented the victim from fleeing.

It is this teenager, now aged 20, who took the stand for a second day Thursday at the trial of Véronique Manceaux. On Wednesday, the young man repeated that he had no memory of the events. He said he didn’t even remember the victim’s name. Yet he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder last year. He was sentenced to nine years in juvenile detention.

Judge Daniel Royer warned him: if he refused to testify, he would be accused of contempt of court.

When he returned to the stand Thursday morning, the young man – who cannot be identified – was more talkative, explaining that he had gone to Véronique Manceaux that evening, armed with a machete. He carried this gun to be “cool”. However, as soon as the events surrounding the murder were mentioned, the witness shut up like an oyster.

The young man claims to have no memory of the events since taking heavy medication last year. “I slept 15 to 16 hours a day. I was disconnected. The events made me crazy, I had to take medicine. Sorry, but I don’t remember anything,” he testified.

Even though he has not taken medication for several months, the witness maintains that he has no memory of the murder. “I flushed that from my memory,” he justified.

This new version obviously did not convince Judge Royer who decided to cite him for contempt of court. His trial is scheduled for next month.

“I have given you several chances to reconsider your decision. Unfortunately, you maintained your decision and refused to testify about these events. I am obliged to cite you for contempt of court,” affirmed Judge Royer.

Jimmy Méthot was a “spy” according to the accused

If he remained silent on Thursday, the young man was talkative in previous testimony, where he recounted in detail the circumstances of the murder of Jimmy Méthot. This earlier testimony was presented to the jury by Crown prosecutor M^e Jasmine Guillaume Thursday. His story, however, does not constitute proof.

In this version, the young man says that Véronique Manceaux accused Jimmy Méthot of being a “spy”. She was under the influence of crack at the time. It was in this context that she began to attack him. “She hit him and questioned him,” according to the witness. “ [Jimmy] was confused and scared,” he said.

Later, Véronique Manceaux offered Jimmy Méthot a “last meal”, a chicken pâté. “He said yes, I’m hungry.” Then, Jimmy Méthot tried to run away, but Véronique Manceaux caught him. “I didn’t see him stab him,” the witness recounted in that earlier statement.

“I had never seen anything like it in my life, it really shook me! “, he added.

According to the Crown’s theory, Véronique Manceaux and an accomplice then forced Jimmy Méthot to drink a flammable liquid. He would have died in agony. In the following days, the accused and accomplices cleaned up the scene.

The trial continues next week.