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A Quebec Superior Court judge began the trial of a man charged with contempt of court — because of the way he testified in the recent murder trial of Véronique Manceaux — by saying he believes no prosecutor from Montreal should be assigned to the case.
During a hearing at the Montreal courthouse on Friday, Justice Daniel Royer also ordered that transcripts of the man’s testimony during Manceaux’s trial be prepared. The witness was a youth when he helped Manceaux, now 38, kill Jimmy Méthot inside her home in Lachine during Labour Day weekend in 2021.
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On Dec. 3, 2022, the witness pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in youth court, and on April 27 a jury found Manceaux guilty of first-degree murder. The man is currently serving a nine-year sentence.
Early in April, the witness testified over the course of two days and claimed the brutal nature of the slaying left him too traumatized to recall details of what happened. Instead, the jury listened to recordings of the man’s previous testimony from the preliminary inquiry stage of the case.
Royer mentioned the young man’s testimony earlier this week when he sentenced Manceaux and said he couldn’t understand how the jury reached a first-degree murder verdict. Royer said there was a lack of evidence the homicide was planned and premeditated or that she helped to confine Méthot while he was attacked. The judge said both were key elements necessary to find Manceaux guilty of first-degree murder.
The judge also noted there was evidence Manceaux was high on crack cocaine when Méthot was killed.
The victim was assaulted, stabbed and forced to drink lighter fluid before he died. The jury heard evidence that the minor grabbed Méthot as he tried to flee from Manceaux’s home. Méthot made it to the front door but was assaulted by the minor before he could escape and was forced back to the living room where the attack continued. Traces of Méthot’s blood were found in the front entrance and police found a smashed mirror there as well.
On April 3 and 4, the witness repeatedly said he could not remember anything of what happened. Royer warned him several times that he could be cited for contempt of court, which is what ended up happening. Royer ordered transcripts of what was said before the jury and outside the jury’s presence when the judge issued several warnings.
“I have not decided yet if the Crown can make representations in this case. Maybe I will appoint an independent prosecutor,” the judge said on Friday. “I think there’s an appearance of conflict of interest in the DPCP’s (Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions) Montreal office being in this file.”
The case returns to court on May 30.
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