Pleadings presented at the trial of Keven Labrie, accused of murder

The chips are down at the second-degree murder trial of Keven Labrie. After a little less than three weeks of trial, the prosecution and the defense delivered their closing arguments to the members of the jury on Thursday.

The hearings, adjourned Tuesday morning, resumed Thursday morning at the Percé courthouse.

As was the case Tuesday, the courtroom was completely deserted for this final right of proceedings. The accused’s lawyers having not presented any defense, it was the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) who presented his arguments first to the jury.

M^e Jérôme Simard argued that the jury should find the 39-year-old from Annemont guilty. The criminal and penal prosecutor insisted on the fact that a witness, Sébastien Lemieux, reported seeing Keven Labrie stab Jean-Philippe Bélanger in the head and face while the victim was lying on the living room couch.

The public prosecutor argued that certain elements of the analysis of the crime scene, in particular traces of blood, corroborated the version of the facts of this witness. The Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions also recalled that the accused left the apartment after the attack with the murder weapon, stained with blood, in his hand.

The prosecution also indicated to the jury that it was not abnormal, more than two years after the facts, that errors had been made in good faith by certain witnesses she called to the stand, recalling that they are human beings and not robots. M^e Simard asked the eight women and six men who form the jury to demonstrate common sensereminding them in passing that it is imperative not to confuse contradictions and perceptions.

M^e Simard also compared the evidence presented during the trial to a puzzle of which the jury now holds all the pieces. Now all that’s left to do is assemble it.he mentioned to him.

The defense attacks the credibility of witnesses

M^e Hugo Caissy, who represents the accused, unsurprisingly asked the members of the jury to acquit his client. Echoing the image of his colleague from the prosecution, the legal aid lawyer argued that it was necessary to carry out a precision cutting in proof so that the pieces of the puzzle fit together as proposed by the Crown.

According to M^e Hugo Caissy, it is impossible to conclude beyond any reasonable doubt that it was his client who stabbed Jean-Philippe Bélanger 15 times. The defense lawyer also recalled that the accused was not identified by the victim, who was still conscious when the paramedics arrived, and that his name was also not specified during the call made to 911.

The defense also questioned the credibility and reliability of two witnesses present at the crime scene, Sébastien Lemieux and Paul Kenny. M^e Caissy recalled their criminal records and the fact that, in his opinion, they had made contradictory statements on several occasions.

Finally, Hugo Caissy recalled that the presumption of innocence applies to Keven Labrie as to any other individual.

The accused remains in his cell

Keven Labrie refused to appear in court on Thursday, as he also did on Tuesday. A screen allowing him to follow the hearings virtually, from his cell in Percé prison, was once again placed nearby.

The Gaspé resident appeared to largely follow the procedures, at certain times standing in front of the screen or sitting at the end of his bed. The 39-year-old man, dressed in a white t-shirt and jogging pants, however, did not intervene at any time on Thursday.

Judge Guy de Blois, who refused to isolate the members of the jury during the weekend, will present his instructions to them Monday morning at 10 a.m. Two jurors will then be drawn at random and will have to withdraw. The 12 other people will then isolate themselves to deliberate and arrive at a unanimous verdict regarding the guilt of Keven Labrie.

Until then, the Blois judge ordered the members of the jury not to consult the media and not to speak about the case with anyone.