A Chateauguay man pleading self-defense avoided life in prison today by admitting to unintentionally hammering his father to death and then wrapping him in plastic like a mummy.
Behind bars since his arrest on August 10, 2013, Marc Lefebvre will be released in 15 days since his sentence takes into account all the preventive detention he has already served.
The tragedy occurred while the accused, now 62, was alone at home with his father, Henri Lefebvre.
The two had a rocky relationship for years and often bickered.
Courtesy picture
The accused, Marc Lefebvre, after his arrest by the police.
Marc Lefebvre alleges that he acted out of provocation. Going down to the basement, he saw his father running towards him with an object and trying to hit him.
An altercation ensued and the accused managed to kick the victim, who fell to the ground. After a few minutes, his father tried to get up and mentioned to his son that he was going to kill him.
like a mummy
Courtesy picture
The workbench in the basement, where the accused would have gone to get the murder weapon, which was never found.
In response to these words, the accused ran to the workbench in the basement, retrieved a hammer and struck the victim on the head.
After the events, Lefebvre painstakingly cleaned up the crime scene and wrapped his father’s mutilated body – 63 broken bones, bruises and lacerations of all kinds – in several layers of plastic, like a mummy.
He also disposed of cleaning rags, tools used as weapons and all of his clothes in a garbage container. Evidence that has never been found.
New trial
In 2017, the 62-year-old was found guilty by a jury for the unpremeditated murder of his father, Henri Lefebvre. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release for 13 years.
However, the Court of Appeal had ordered the holding of a new trial since the accused had not been able to present a defense of provocation, which would have opened up the possibility of obtaining a verdict of manslaughter.
It is exactly to this count that he pleaded guilty today at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse.
He received a 13-year sentence, but will in fact be released soon. Upon his release, he will have to respect several conditions and a two-year probation.
“It was him or me”
During the trial, it was reported that the victim had abused his children and his partner.
Today it was mentioned in court that the defendant’s sister forgave her brother’s crime more easily than his father’s actions.
Marc Lefebvre had also testified that he had acted in self-defense. But today, he admitted that he had gone too far in the force used.
“I didn’t want my father to die. There was no other possibility. It was him or me,” he explained, bursting into tears.
– With Claudia Berthiaume
Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com