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Hosea Amorus Puhya, the man charged with the first-degree murder of his ex-wife Gisèle Betondi in LaSalle nearly two years ago, was able to track the victim’s movements through her cellphone, a jury was told on Thursday.
Puhya, 51, is alleged to have stabbed the mother of three in broad daylight on Sept. 8, 2022, in LaSalle.
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Prosecutor Jade Coderre made the Crown’s opening remarks to the jury in a trial at the Montreal courthouse that is expected to take two weeks to complete.
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Puhya is represented by defence lawyers Antonio Cabral and Vanessa Sadler.
“A few months before the murder, which took place on Sept. 8, 2022, the relationship between the accused and the victim was difficult and contentious. Evidence will reveal that as of December 2021, the victim was tired of the accused’s behaviour,” Coderre said. “She intended to leave him and wished to live separately from him. The separation was difficult for the accused to accept, leading to resentment toward the victim, especially because he lost custody of their children. The accused’s resentment was fuelled by many things, including suspicion that the victim had been unfaithful to him.
“‘I will kill you. I will put a knife in your belly and you will die instantly’ said the accused to the victim on Jan. 7, 2022.”
Puhya was arrested after this threat was made and he was released on conditions, Coderre said, adding it and other death threats made by the accused were recorded and will be played as evidence during the trial.
While Puhya was detained, Betondi moved to an apartment on des Oblats St. in LaSalle and her address was supposed to be unknown to him.
“The accused managed to figure out where she lived, because this is where he killed the victim,” Coderre said. “He used location tracking apps using her cellphone to track her.”
Twelve witnesses are scheduled to be called by the prosecution, Coderre said, including a neighbour of Betondi who knew what the victim was going through in the months leading up to the homicide and who witnessed the stabbing.
“She will testify about the statements she received from the victim regarding her relationship with the accused as well as her observations as a first-hand witness to her friend’s murder,” Coderre said, describing the neighbour as the prosecution’s “most important witness.”
The prosecutor said a surveillance camera was “an important and impartial witness” to the crime.
“(It) captured the murder live,” Coderre said. “This camera, located just above the victim’s apartment building, was also a witness of this gruesome crime.”
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