In a unanimous decision, the jury found Ballouz, 38, guilty of four counts; or unpremeditated murder of his partner, premeditated murder of the children and arson, on September 25, 2022. Ms. Bussières’ family was in the courtroom when the jury rendered its verdict.
“To make your decision, you must carefully and with an open mind examine all the elements presented during the trial,” said Judge Eric Downs of the Superior Court in giving his final instructions to the jurors.
According to the Crown, the father stabbed his wife 23 times, then killed his two sons by suffocating them with a pillow. He allegedly cleaned the apartment and started a fire to burn the evidence. He finally tried to take his own life by ingesting windshield washer fluid.
Ballouz instead suggests that his partner would have killed his sons during the ten minutes when she went to get beer. It was at this moment that a surveillance camera filmed the father winking before heading into the home where the family was staying.
The cause of death of the two boys, however, has not been determined. Their little bodies bore no marks of violence. The pathologist indicated during the trial that these were white autopsies. No trace of smoke was detected in their lungs, nor trace of carbon monoxide in their blood. The pathologist said the absence of soot in their respiratory tract suggests that the children were not breathing at the time of the fire in the condo.
Remember that the accused chose to represent herself alone. She presented no defense and did not call any witnesses during the trial. However, she spoke directly to the jurors on Wednesday to convince them to acquit her. This exercise is usually done by the defense lawyer.
Ms. Guertin also pointed out the long delays in legal proceedings.
“Hopefully the laws change and it doesn’t take so long.”
“I said Synthia, Eliam and Zac, justice has been served for the rest of you today. That’s what I said in my head. I said thank you God,” said Ms. Guertin after Ballouz’s guilty verdict.
With information from Kelly Greig, CTV News and Marie-Pier Boucher, Noovo Info.
All the details in Marie-Pier Boucher’s report.
