By Canadian Press

Accused in Quebec City sword attack to argue not criminally responsible for killings

Apr 11, 2022 | 9:19 AM

QUEBEC — The man accused of two counts of murder in a Halloween night sabre attack in Quebec City in 2020 doesn’t deny the acts he’s accused of, the judge noted at the opening of his trial today.

Lawyers for 26-year-old Carl Girouard intend to argue that because of his mental state at the time of the attack he should be found not criminally responsible on the two first-degree murder and five attempted murder charges he faces.

The case at the Quebec City courthouse is expected to last from four to five weeks and will focus on Girouard’s mental condition at the time of the events, Quebec Superior Court Justice Richard Grenier told the trial.

Suzanne Clermont, 61, and François Duchesne, 56, were killed in the attack.

Jury selection was completed quickly today with eight women and four men chosen to hear the case.

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Defence lawyer Pierre Gagnon told the court a psychiatrist as well as the mother of the accused and a correctional officer will testify for Girouard, who is from Ste-Thérèse, a northern suburb of Montreal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2022.

The Canadian Press