Crown Opts for Direct Indictment for Quebec City Halloween Night Stabbing Suspect

Crown Opts for Direct Indictment for Quebec City Halloween Night Stabbing Suspect
People gather at the Quebec National Museum in a vigil to honour Francois Duchesne who was stabbed to death on Halloween night by a man with a sword, on Nov. 3, 2020 in Quebec City. The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot
The Canadian Press
Updated:

QUEBEC—Prosecutors in the case of the Quebec City Halloween night stabbing attack that killed two people filed a direct indictment today against the accused.

It means the case against 25-year-old Carl Girouard will skip the preliminary hearing stage and go straight to trial.

Girouard, of Ste-Thérèse, Que., is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder after a man dressed in a medieval costume and wielding a Japanese-style sword went on a rampage last Oct. 31 in Quebec City’s historic district.

Two residents, 56-year-old Francois Duchesne and 61-year-old Suzanne Clermont, were killed, and five others were seriously injured.

The accused made a brief court appearance by video today before Quebec court Judge Jean Asselin from the detention centre in Quebec City, and his case will return to court Sept. 7.

Prosecutor François Godin filed the direct indictment, telling the court he’d informed defence lawyer Pierre Gagnon ahead of time.