The Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will not hear the appeal of Ugo Fredette, convicted by a jury in 2018 of two first degree murders, those of his ex-spouse Véronique Barbe and a motorist crossed by chance, Yvon Lacasse.
As is always the case, the highest court in the land did not explain its decision not to hear this case.
Thus, the verdict of Ugo Fredette remains and he will remain behind bars.
The jury had taken only two days to find him guilty of the murders committed on September 14, 2017.
In addition to having killed Véronique Barbe with 17 stab wounds in a context of domestic violence and separation, he had been convicted of the murder of Yvon Lacasse, a 71-year-old motorist encountered at a rest stop in Lachute. An act committed while he was on the run after killing his ex-spouse. Fredette had savagely beaten him to death for stealing his vehicle, to reduce his chances of being spotted.
He had gone on the run with a six-year-old child, and had been responsible for triggering a long Amber alert.
The man had been arrested in Ontario, and the child released to family members.
To overturn the verdicts, Fredette alleged that the trial judge erred in her instructions to the 12 jurors by telling them “that they had to be unanimous on the verdict, but that they did not have to be unanimous. on how to arrive at a guilty verdict.
The Court of Appeal rejected this argument. Fredette then turned to the Supreme Court, which has just closed the door to him.
He was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole for 25 years.