A Montrealer who killed his neighbor with a homemade spear gets 15 years in prison

An intoxicated Montrealer who proclaimed himself king of the world before stabbing his neighbor to death was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

“He was in a good period. He was making plans for the future, plans to leave again, to take care of himself again, to move. But everything stopped suddenly. His generosity and his need to help were fatal to him,” read a relative on behalf of the family of Alain Césaré, the victim.

One night in February 2021, the accused Etienne Laberge left his home to proclaim himself the king of the world. He was making a commotion in his building in Montreal North, shouting and banging on doors. His neighbors called 911.

The 41-year-old was also walking around naked with a blanket over his head and a broom to which he had attached a long kitchen knife.

Stabbed to death

When they arrived, the police found Alain Césaré, 59, who was lying in a pool of blood on the floor of the corridor. Laberge had just stabbed him nine times with his homemade spear before barricading himself in his apartment.

He kept the police in suspense for around 11 hours during which he hurled insults and death threats. Laberge notably made a throat-cutting sign to a bloodhound which was in a basket near his window.

After hours of negotiation, the police finally entered his apartment to arrest him. At the hospital, he did not calm down, shouting among other things: “You are all going to die!”

That day, he had consumed three and a half joints of marijuana and two to five pills of methamphetamine. Consumption which exacerbated his psychotic symptoms.

Des indices

Initially accused of murder, Laberge pleaded guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge of manslaughter at the Montreal courthouse. Judge Éliane B. Perreault then endorsed the common suggestion of 15 years of detention.

“It’s sad. Especially since there had been so many, so many indications of an intervention to be made,” lamented the magistrate, admonishing Laberge to take control of himself. He continued to use even in prison.

In the months before his crime, he had become increasingly paranoid. He believed his neighbors were trying to mentally control him and plant parasites in him.

Laberge knew his victim, with whom he had been in conflict for some time over the sale of drugs.

Before dying, Alain Césaré had just found his inspiration to paint. His family now hopes that his death will not be in vain: “May Alain’s life journey inspire you […] and encourages you to get rid of your demons and stop consuming substances, which contributed to the action you committed,” said a relative, addressing the assailant.

– With Michaël Nguyen