Montreal man pleads guilty to killing friend, blames people who throw pills away

Gérard Petit was originally charged with second-degree murder, but pleaded guilty Tuesday to manslaughter.

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A man was sentenced in Montreal court Tuesday to a total sentence of 11 years in prison after he admitted to stabbing his friend to death, but attributed the situation to the drugs the victim had taken after finding them in the trash. .

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Gérard Petit, 65, told Superior Court Judge Catherine Perreault that he did not recognize the person Marcel Poirier became on July 29, 2019, after the 54-year-old homeless man consumed pills he took from the trash and walked over to Petit’s apartment. in a social housing building on Henri Julien Ave.

“I tried to get him off the street as best I could. When it was too cold outside, I let him stay at my house, when they didn’t have places in (homeless shelters), ”Petit said, adding that Poirier suffered from mental illness and often“ lived in containers ”.

“He had a hard life, but he was a good person,” he continued. “That night he was Marcel Poirier, but he became someone else. It was because of the pills he crushed (and consumed within Petit’s department), that’s for sure.

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“When people ask, ‘How could this happen, something like that?’ What I have to say is don’t throw your pills away. Marcel died from this.

The Canadian government recommends on its website that expired or unused medications be returned to a pharmacy or, if thrown away, mixed with “something unappealing, like used coffee grounds or kitty litter.” This makes the drug less attractive to children and pets, and unrecognizable to people who search for drugs in the trash. “

Petit referenced the pills when he was questioned by a Montreal police felony detective after his arrest. An autopsy found the presence of drugs used to prevent seizures, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine in Poirier’s body.

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Eight knife wounds, including four deep stab wounds, were found on Poirier’s body, including a stab wound to the back. Prosecutor Katerine Brabant said two of the stab wounds were fatal.

Petit was originally charged with second-degree murder, but pleaded guilty Tuesday to manslaughter.

Petit told police that he had asked Poirier to leave his home after his behavior suddenly changed. He said Poirier threw down a dumbbell and threatened to destroy everything inside his apartment.

According to a joint statement of events read from the court file by Brabant, Petit also told police that he managed to get Poirier out of his apartment by throwing bags containing his belongings into a hallway outside his apartment. While they were both in the hallway, he said, he noticed Poirier holding a knife that Petit used to cut meat.

“At the time, he had the impression that it was him or the victim,” Brabant said, summarizing what Petit told police.

He also said that he pointed the knife at Poirier while they argued and while Poirier was still holding it. But he couldn’t explain how he stabbed Poirier in the back.

With the time served included in the sentence, Petit has seven years and three months in prison to serve.

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Reference-montrealgazette.com

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