Did a Montrealer who stabbed another man to death at Émilie-Gamelin Park, after being hit, act in self-defense? This is the delicate question that a jury will have to answer, following a murder trial which began this Tuesday.
“He chose to use a knife, he did not act to defend himself and above all, he did not act reasonably by stabbing the victim in the heart,” said Mr.e Hugo Rousse, announcing his colors to the jury.
Just before, Grégory Mauricin pleaded not guilty to the second degree murder of Christidist Williams, which occurred in the summer of 2018.
That evening, the 46-year-old accused was at the park in downtown Montreal, according to a drug user who is familiar with the place.
“We took crack and strong alcohol, we consumed quietly, peacefully,” testified Tarouna Vianda, who said she wanted to have a good time after having finished serving a sentence in the penitentiary.
Altercation
But all of a sudden, someone arrived, took a swing and punched Mauricin, the witness said, saying he had to make a movement to be sure not to be hit.
Explaining that “everything happened extremely quickly”, Vianda claimed that Mauricin then insulted his assailant. And that just afterwards, the latter took a step back with “a red spot” on his chest. He had obviously just been stabbed.
“The person collapsed in the street,” said the witness, claiming to have fled so as not to have to be questioned by the police.
Self-defense
Mauricin was eventually arrested and charged with unpremeditated murder. But if he intends to plead self-defense, the Crown affirmed in its opening statement that this was not the case.
“There were blows, one to the stomach and one fatal to the heart,” said Me Rousse, specifying that the legal concept of self-defense was “very precise”.
He thus invited the jurors to listen to the evidence by wondering what Mauricin’s aim was in stabbing the victim, whether it was “really necessary” to use a knife, and why the second blow was given. in the heart.
“Trust your common sense, do not hesitate to use it during the trial,” said the prosecutor just before the hearing of the evidence began.
The trial, presided over by Judge Marc-André Blanchard, is scheduled for a few weeks. Mauricin is represented by Mare Morgane Laloum and Katherine Labelle.
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