The man suspected of strangling his partner to death in a Terrebonne seniors’ residence was charged with first-degree murder on Thursday.
Gilles Brassard, 81, was arrested Wednesday evening at Pierre-Le Gardeur hospital, where his state of health improved in the last hours. His appearance took place from his hospital bed on Thursday by videoconference.
The man is suspected of having killed his partner Thérèse Brassard-Lévesque, 79, last Saturday at Ressource de Lanaudière. The woman who suffered from Alzheimer’s lived in one of the 144 units of the resource located at the intersection of highways 40 and 640. It was staff members who found the couple unconscious in the woman’s room on Saturday.
According to our information, the man swallowed a large quantity of medication in order to take his own life. He was taken to hospital by ambulance. The police were waiting for his state of health to improve before arresting him.
The charge of first degree murder is the most serious charge in the Canadian Criminal Code.
This murder is the ninth alleged femicide of the year.