Al Ballouz guilty of murder | “He destroyed it until the last minute,” confides Synthia Bussières’ mother

(Longueuil) “He destroyed it until the last minute, and he was still trying to destroy it in front of the jury,” asserts Sylvie Guertin. According to her, her daughter Synthia Bussières was the victim of a “manipulative” and “very aggressive” man. To avoid another feminicide, she launches a cry from the heart to women who experience domestic violence.

“Get out of there!” Get out! Don’t talk and go out. You have to make your life safe with your children. Call SOS Domestic Violence,” insisted Sylvie Guertin to the media Monday at the Longueuil courthouse.

Mohamed Al Ballouz – who now identifies as a woman – was found guilty by the jury Monday morning of the premeditated murders of his sons Zac, 2, and Eliam, 5, and the unpremeditated murder of his partner Synthia Bussières. She automatically gets life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

For the mother and grandmother of the victims, this verdict represents the end of an ordeal of two years and three months. “Justice has been done for Synthia, Eliam and Zac,” breathed Sylvie Guertin, her gaze piercing. “We’ll be able to sleep now,” she continued.

There is no doubt, according to Sylvie Guertin: her daughter was the victim of psychological violence by her partner. “He had isolated her. The few times he came to my house, he was very aggressive. On several occasions, my partner had to put it back in its place. What happened when they were alone? “, asked the grieving grandmother.

Several questions remain unanswered. Why did Al Ballouz commit these three murders? Was there a context of domestic violence? At the trial, practically nothing was filtered about the relationship between the victim and her spouse. The accused vaguely said that they had been in the “process” of separating for a year.

“Synthia was a gentle person. She didn’t speak, why? Probably because she was scared? Was there any threat that he was going to harm the children? Lately, my daughter was no longer the daughter I knew. She was sad,” explained M.^me Guertin.

“I was revolted! »

At trial, Al Ballouz portrayed Synthia Bussières as a murderer who had “lost her mind”. According to this improbable theory, it was she who killed her children before attempting to kill her spouse. However, Synthia Bussières received 23 stab wounds to the neck, behind the head and on the hands. In fact, it was the father who coldly murdered his children, probably by suffocating them with a pillow.

Sylvie Guertin was outraged to hear the accused portray her daughter in this way. “There are no words to express how outraged I was. Everything he said to destroy my daughter. I was revolted! Revolted! », she got carried away.

At the end of her closing argument, the accused theatrically presented herself as the “mother” of the children. Words that shocked Sylvie Guertin.

“He doesn’t know what it’s like to be a mom. It doesn’t make any sense. It was still beyond comprehension. He’s a manipulator. He manipulated everyone until the last minute,” Sylvie Guertin said indignantly.

She deplores the fact that Al Ballouz wanted to call her and her family members as a witness at the trial. “It’s still beyond comprehension. A way to control us again,” she said.

Observations on the sentence to be imposed are scheduled for Wednesday.