” A monster. That’s what it is. What he did is nothing short of monstrous,” asserts Michel Leblanc. The “monster” is his brother Denis Leblanc, who coldly murdered their two sisters and almost killed a neighbor in October 2020. Rebellious and disrespectful, the murderer disregarded the pain of his loved ones on Wednesday during a hearing in skin flower.
“Mr. Leblanc, you will stop mumbling and talking! », even thundered judge Mario Longpré, interrupting the moving testimony of the daughter-in-law of Sylvie Leblanc, shot dead by the murderer.
The 63-year-old Montrealer was found guilty by a jury in mid-February of the first degree murder of his two sisters Diane and Sylvie Leblanc, as well as the attempted murder of his neighbor and two police officers. . When the judge informed Denis Leblanc that he was required to sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years, the accused seemed to not care.
“No problem,” he said, arrogantly.
PHOTO TAKEN FROM A VIDEO FILED AS EVIDENCE
We can see Denis Leblanc, a hunting weapon in his hand, when he has just shot his two sisters Diane and Sylvie Leblanc in October 2020. He had time to light a cigarette.
Denis Leblanc almost prevented his grieving relatives from sharing their suffering in court, since he dismissed his lawyers at the start of the hearing. This is the sixth time in four years that he has changed lawyers. Judge Longpré, however, agreed to hear the victims and postpone the pleadings on the sentences to be imposed on the other counts.
On October 3, 2020, Denis Leblanc wanted to cause “carnage”. He had told several people: he wanted to kill women, including police officers. “If there are women passing in the alley, I will shoot the women,” Denis Leblanc told a neighbor. In his apartment, he had placed rifles in several strategic locations.
When his two sisters arrive from the back of the building, Denis Leblanc opens fire. They don’t have a chance. After the murders, the killer lights a cigarette, steps over the bodies and walks to the apartment of his neighbor, Lina Petrilli, who had rejected him. She came close to death that day.
“The event that destroyed my life,” breathes Lina Petrilli. His testimony is moving. This “extreme shock” prevents him from working. His dreams were crushed. She suffers from constant fear.
“I lost all meaning of my existence. I’m trying to rebuild myself little by little, one day at a time,” she says.
PHOTOS FILED AS PROOF
Sylvie Leblanc
PHOTO FILED AS PROOF
Diane Leblanc
However, she had already filed a complaint with the City of Montreal Police Department. A few months earlier, on Valentine’s Day 2020, Denis Leblanc started harassing her via text messages. When she goes to the police station, she is sent home. The police came 11 hours later without taking up his complaint. The texts pile up all night. Same scenario the next day: his complaint is rejected.
“Out of fear, I bought peace. I bought Mr. Leblanc’s excuses. For the rest of the story, you know…” she blurted.
Stéphanie Bédard considered Sylvie Leblanc her main maternal figure. Since this “unjust carnage”, time has stopped for her. “It was my second mother who was stolen from me, the mother I had chosen for myself. Sylvie was my model, my confidante, the one who knew me better than anyone,” the woman sobbed.
She even had to leave her job in the Canadian Armed Forces, since she was no longer able to carry a firearm.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
In the center, Michel Leblanc, brother of the accused and the two victims, speaks with the prosecutors.
Michel Leblanc, the brother of the two victims and the accused, describes a “mourning tinged with disgust, anger and cynicism”. According to him, his brother actually executed their sisters. Even though he made fun of the laws, he asked them to place themselves in specific positions, at a certain distance, supposedly for health measures.
“As horrible as it sounds, I believe he placed them to make his job easier. To execute them better,” says Michel Leblanc. His brother is an “irrecoverable” case, according to him.
Diane Leblanc’s two adult sons, Félix and Samuel Lambert, described in a letter “loving, altruistic, generous women who were always ready to help.” “We are losing their knowledge, their knowledge, their wisdom and their love,” they wrote.
Sylvie Leblanc’s son was 12 years old on that tragic day. His only parent. Resilient, the teenager shared an inspiring letter to the court.
“Despite all this upheaval, we get up and continue. I hold on to those who are dear to me, my family and my friends. I have the role of idols at home for the little ones. (…) I move forward, I don’t stop,” confides the teenager, who cannot be identified.
The case returns to court on Friday. The murderer must try to find a lawyer in the meantime.
Me Pierre-Olivier Bolduc and Me Katerine Brabant representing the public prosecutor.
reference: www.lapresse.ca