The first-degree murder trial of Charles Lassonde, accused of killing Serge Boutin in the Val-des-Sources area in 2021, continues today at the Sherbrooke courthouse. The accused’s ex-spouse, Lana Dubois, has been testifying since this morning under close surveillance, after having collaborated with the police to advance the investigation.
• Also read: Murder of Serge Boutin: the trial of Charles Lassonde opens in Sherbrooke
Lana Dubois, 51, said she was “nervous and confident” before beginning her testimony.
Remember that Charles Lassonde’s ex-wife was also initially accused of first degree murder and her trial was scheduled to begin on November 13, 2023. She finally chose to collaborate in the investigation a few days before her trial. She pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter and received a four-and-a-half year prison sentence.
“We were approaching the trial, I was no longer able to live a lie, it was heavy, I was having nightmares, I was not doing well. I decided to finally trust my lawyer, to tell him the truth, to tell him what really happened,” she explained to the 14 jurors. His collaboration made it possible to find the victim’s body, more than two years after his death.
“I pleaded guilty to manslaughter, because I was there. » – Lana Dubois, ex-spouse of the accused and key witness for the Crown
Drugs at the heart of the relationship between the witness, the accused and the victim
Lana Dubois was 18 years old when she met the victim, whom everyone nicknamed “Bibitte”, whose real name was Serge Boutin. The witness was quick to explain that the link between the two “was drugs”. Dubois explained that she used cocaine, hash and crack, among other things. She explained that she met the accused, Charles Lassonde, “at the same time”. They became spouses, before their relationship ended since Lassonde was in prison.
About twenty years passed before the two met again, in 2016, according to the witness. After a long stay in British Columbia, the two returned to Quebec, before settling into accommodation in Victoriaville. In the summer of 2021, Lana Dubois, according to her statements, wanted to end their relationship.
“There was no more love, it was just consumption. It was withering away day by day, week by week,” she told jurors. “Bibitte”, who was in Victoriaville at the same time, was then invited to come and live with Lana Dubois, who wanted Charles Lassonde to leave the accommodation.
“He stayed almost a week, he slept on the little loveseat,” explained Dubois. The accused Charles Lassonde, however, still remained there.
-“He thought I was conspiring in [son dos] with Bibitte. He thought that I was using in secret with my friend, that Bibitte had money and that he was pretending that he didn’t have any. It wasn’t that, all I wanted was for Charles to get out of the apartment and for Bibitte to come work with me and to contribute to the rent,” explained the witness.
Lassonde allegedly recovered Serge Boutin’s cell phone while he was away. He would then have indicated to Lana Dubois that “Bibitte” had consulted pages on the dark web. “That Bibitte would have been on sites of hackage [piratage]on how to remove the light from the phone, how to record without the person knowing,” said the witness.
“Everything Charles told me seemed so believable, so true. Given that I have no knowledge of technology, of computers, it is easier to believe that Bibitte would steal my identity,” detailed the witness. Her testimony, led by criminal and penal prosecutor Stéphanie Landry, will continue Tuesday afternoon.
His understanding with the police explained
Lana Dubois explained from the outset to the 14 jurors that the police had come to pick her up from prison, a few days before her trial, in November 2024. She had finally chosen to collaborate in the investigation. The trial was scheduled for November 13 and the police came to pick her up on November 9. She produced a video statement the following day.
“On November 11, we go to the location. The location of the event, not the kidnapping. The place where I thought he was buried. » – Lana Dubois, witness at the trial of Charles Lassonde
In the following days, she underwent a polygraph before signing her collaboration agreement. She later pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of manslaughter.
Dubois explained that he obtained an amount of $650 “for food” upon signing the agreement. She was also entitled, during her time in prison, to $200 per month for the canteen, $75 per month for calling cards and $375 for clothing. Upon his release from prison, he was also awarded an amount of $650 per month for his “transportation, taxi, bus”. However, it was not possible to know whether she still has access to these sums today. Lana Dubois has already served her sentence.
“I didn’t decide to tell the truth for that amount. I found out right after I was going to collect the money. I wanted to tell the truth,” she told the jurors, struggling to hold back her tears.
