Man who killed his stepfather declared not criminally responsible

A man who killed his stepfather and tried to kill his mother, a neighbour and the doorman of the downtown apartment building where they all lived was declared not criminally responsible of his actions at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday.

Superior Court Justice Mario Longpré agreed with the recommendation, made by lawyers on both sides of the case, that Guillaume Dion Roy, 27, suffered from a serious mental health problem when he attacked his stepfather, Raymond Hébert, and mother with a knife while they were lying in bed early in the morning of June 26, 2022 in an apartment on Drummond St. He also stabbed the building’s doorman when he arrived to help and stabbed a neighbour after she tried to intervene when she found Dion Roy on top of his mother in the hallway outside the neighbour’s apartment.

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Two psychiatrists who evaluated Dion Roy determined he was in a state of psychosis when the attacks took place.

Dion Roy and witnesses who spoke to the Montreal police, including his mother, said his mental health deteriorated significantly after he consumed “magic mushrooms” eight months before the stabbings.

“The court concludes that the accused, at the moment of the events, was (suffering from) a mental illness that rendered him incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong in the sense of the Criminal Code,” Longpré said.

The doorman was stabbed several times in the head, was left blind in one eye and has been unable to return to work. The neighbour was also stabbed several times in the head and was left with many scars.

“The accused not only killed Raymond Hébert (a lawyer), the partner of his mother but he also (stabbed) his mother who was the target of the attack,” Longpré said while noting Hébert was killed while trying to protect Dion Roy’s mother. “The mother has mentioned that she loves her son with all her heart and, despite the atrocity of his actions and disastrous consequences they posed on (Hébert) and herself, she will always be there for him thanks to the unconditional love of a mother.”

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The judge ordered that Dion Roy remain detained at a psychiatric hospital until a mental health tribunal determines he is well enough to leave. He also ordered that Dion Roy follow any treatment recommended by doctors.

Dion Roy is also prohibited from communicating with the neighbour and the doorman and is not allowed to possess any weapons. He is also not allowed to consume any drugs unless they are prescribed to him.

Longpré placed a publication ban on the names of the three people who survived the attacks.

According to a joint statement of facts entered into the court record, Dion Roy’s mother told the police that her son’s behaviour changed after he consumed the mushrooms in October 2021.

“During this episode, the accused allegedly renounced God, he thought he was possessed and he thought his deceased father had renounced him and was going to get him,” the mother told police in her statement.

“In November 2021, the accused consulted a hospital several times. He was hospitalized during this period and subsequently followed externally.”

The day before the stabbings, the mother found Dion Roy’s behaviour strange and she checked in on him while he slept that night. He said he was OK and she returned to bed with Hébert.

“A few moments later, the accused arrived in his bedroom, running, with a chef’s knife in his hand. He was hysterical and in his underwear. He was yelling,” the mother told police. “The accused arrived on Mr. Hébert’s side and jumped on him. According to her, it was she that the accused was targeting and not Mr. Hébert.”

pcherry@postmedia.com

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