The trial of a father and his son accused of premeditated murder for allegedly wanting revenge for a trivial conflict opened Tuesday in Quebec. According to the prosecution’s theory, Dominic Larocque and his son Cédric beat a man with baseball bats before stabbing him in the heart.
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The scene was something striking on Tuesday at the Quebec courthouse.
Father and son, handcuffed side by side in the dock, both pleaded not guilty to the charge of premeditated murder against them, officially opening their jury trial scheduled for six weeks.
The charges against the duo date back to November 1, 2022, in a rooming house on Chemin Sainte-Foy.
Body in “shocking” condition
According to the explanations given by Me Matthieu Rochette in his opening statement, Dominic Larocque would have had an altercation on the afternoon of the murder with the victim, who accused him of having “slept with his wife”. Hit in the face and stomach by Manuel Paradis and the woman, the 56-year-old man reportedly refused to file a complaint, saying only that he feared “having problems with the law if the situation escalates with the victim,” reported the public prosecutor. .
Photo taken from Facebook
In the evening, Dominic and Cédric Larocque, wearing hoods, went to Manuel Paradis’ apartment, encouraging him to open the door by identifying himself under a false name. When the victim tried to close the door, the two accused allegedly “broke down” it to enter and attack the 32-year-old man.
The altercation that allegedly followed left the victim “in a shocking, lamentable state,” warned the Crown prosecutor.
“We are talking about dozens and dozens of injuries from stinging, sharp and blunt weapons,” said Me Rochette, specifying that a 20-centimeter laceration to the heart had been fatal.
Photo taken from Facebook
Motivated by revenge?
If the Crown brings the charge of first degree murder, it is because it intends to demonstrate that the attack was “planned, premeditated and fueled by the situation that the Larocques were experiencing with Manuel Paradis”.
“They had a motive: revenge,” insisted Mr. Matthieu Rochette, insisting on the fact “that we do not live in a society where we take the law into our own hands.”
The public prosecutor also wants to prove through expertise that the DNA of the suspects and the victim was found on several objects, including a knife and a baseball bat broken in two.
Twenty witnesses
The Crown announced around twenty potential witnesses in evidence on Tuesday. There are several police officers and some experts, but also the victim’s partner at the time, Manuel Paradis, “who witnessed the death of her partner live”.
Dominic Larocque is represented by Me Eva Bouchard and Me Alex Savoie, while his son is defended by Me Matthieu Giroux and Me Noémie Ayotte.
Judge François Huot will preside over the trial.
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2024-05-21 21:33:53
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