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Soheib Henni Mansour faces two counts of attempted murder which, according to the Crown, are linked to a story of jealousy towards the new spouse of his ex-girlfriend.
Hassan Mennis and Zayed Bouday are the two alleged victims.
The defense instead puts forward the thesis of self-defense.
The Crown portrays the accused as a jealous man, who harassed his ex-partner for two years. The backstory of this attack would be motivated by Mansour’s jealousy towards his ex’s new spouse.
A video of the altercation was shown to members of the jury. But what happened on rue Parthenais on the evening of 1is November 2022, in Montreal, when two men aged 19 and 23 were attacked in a parking lot?
Self-defense?
The defense alleges that Soheib Henni Mansour was attacked by two strangers while he was driving a friend home on Parthenais Street. Two men reportedly approached his vehicle to speak to him. The situation would have escalated and the accused would have defended himself, says the defense.
During the altercation, in addition to a knife, a fishing rod and a golf club were used by those involved.
During closing arguments, the defense questioned the credibility of Hassan Mennis’ testimony.
Zayed Bouday did not testify during the trial.
The accused himself called 911 three times, mentioning that he was the victim of an attack. An excerpt of the appeal was shown to jurors.
Meanwhile, the two injured victims walked 800 meters to Notre-Dame hospital.
Hassan Mennis notably suffered a deep laceration to his face which could have been fatal if the blade had penetrated a centimeter more, the Crown argues.
Lies to the police?
This version of events would be light years from what actually happened, according to the suit.
The investigation shows that one of the victims, Hassan Mennis, is in fact the new spouse of the accused’s ex-girlfriend. The other victim, Zayed Bouday, is the brother of his ex, therefore his former brother-in-law.
Soheib’s ex-girlfriend Henni Mansour has just had a child with Hassan Mennis.
The 1is November 2022, the same day of the attempted murder, the accused asked his ex questions by text and congratulated her on her baby, but through his friend, the same friend who accompanied him on the evening of the attack.
Soheib Henni Mansour allegedly announced his intention to kill by shouting during the altercation: “You and your friend are going to die today» with angry eyes, just before rushing towards Zayed Bouday. He then had a small knife in his hand, the blade of which measured 3 to 4 centimeters.
Mansour also allegedly ordered his friend with whom he was with to remove weapons from the trunk of the vehicle, namely a golf club and a fishing rod.
The Crown is unequivocal, Soheib Henni Mansour would be the instigator of this attack and he would have tried to manipulate the police by calling 911 himself to pretend to be a victim.
He would also have contradicted himself by giving different versions of the facts at the hospital to investigators.
One of the victims claims to have seen Soheib Henni Mansour smoking a cigarette near the hospital while he and his friend went inside to get help.
The 12 members of the jury will soon deliver their verdict on whether Mansour is guilty.
See Marie-Michelle Lauzon’s report in the video.
