Six months after his son was found guilty of second-degree murder, Dominic Larocque admitted on Friday morning his involvement in the homicide of one of his neighbors in a rooming house in Sainte-Foy in November 2022
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Father and son Larocque beat and stabbed Manuel Paradis to death in his bedroom on November 1, 2022. It was an altercation that occurred earlier in the day between Dominic Larocque and the victim which was at the origin of the deadly conflict.
Taken from Manuel Paradis’ Facebook
Friday morning, the father pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter, he who was initially targeted by a count of first degree murder. The statement of facts specifies that it was not he who had delivered the fatal blow, Cédric Larocque having stabbed Manuel Paradis in the heart.
However, the repeated punches delivered by Dominic Larocque were likely to cause bodily harm which could lead to the death of the victim, he admitted.
Moral responsibility
The parties agreed on a common suggestion for a sentence of 10 years in penitentiary. Given the preventive detention, Dominic Larocque will remain in detention for six and a half years.
His son Cédric was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 13 years.
Judge François Huot also reminded the offender of his role in the disastrous fate of his son, “who will spend the first of his 13 Christmases at least in penitentiary”.
Photo taken from Facebook
“You failed in your duty as a man by being at the origin of a homicide. And you failed in your duty as a father by training your son,” insisted Judge Huot. “The person who bears the greatest moral responsibility in this story is you.”
The prosecutor in the case, Me Matthieu Rochette, also identified this fact in the increased responsibility of the father in the case.
“We all know that a father enjoys moral authority over his child and the fact of misusing him as Mr. Larocque did is an aggravating factor.”
Provided by the court
“Brutal” attack
During the day of November 1, 2022, Dominic Larocque and Manuel Paradis had an altercation during which Larocque was allegedly hit in the face. In the evening, accompanied by his son who was armed with a baseball bat, he showed up at the victim’s apartment to “give her a message.”
Provided by the court
Judge Huot emphasized Friday that the only injury Dominic Larocque suffered during the first altercation was to his ego. And that this misplaced pride had “led him to drag his son into this adventure”.
“This is an absolutely blatant lack of judgment.”
When Paradis had the misfortune of opening his door after Larocque father presented himself under a false name, he suffered a “brutal” attack which left him “in a lamentable state”, underlined the public prosecutor.
The “particularly shocking” photos presented as evidence during the trial of Cédric Larocque made it possible to take the full measure of the violence of the attack suffered by the victim.
