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The jury trial of Ali Ngarukiye began Monday morning at the Montreal courthouse with the judge informing the jury the accused plans to present a defence that he is not criminally responsible of the homicide he is charged with because of a mental disorder.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Myriam Lachance made the comment while delivering her introductory instructions to the jury. She said Ngarukiye’s lawyers will argue the accused could not formulate the intention to murder a person.
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Ngarukiye, 24, is charged with the second-degree murder of 57-year-old André Lapierre on June 17, 2021.
Ngarukiye entered a not guilty plea to the charge on Monday.
“This is not a case of whodunnit,” prosecutor Louis Boutillier told the jury in his opening statement.
He said the Crown intends to prove that Ngarukiye killed Lapierre inside the Rivière-des-Prairies Detention Centre.
The prosecutor said 15 witnesses will be heard, including nine guards who were working in the jail the night Lapierre was killed. Bouthillier said the two men were inside the same cell as of 10:30 p.m. on June 16, 2021, and at 6 a.m. the following day, Ngarukiye was standing in the cell while Lapierre was lying lifeless on the floor. The men had been cellmates for a few days before Lapierre was killed.
Another witness who will testify is a friend of Lapierre’s who had four conversations with him before the victim was killed. She recorded all four of the conversations, Bouthillier said, adding the jury will listen to all four of the recordings.
Another civilian witness, the prosecutor said, will be a detainee who was in an adjoining cell when the attack occurred.
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Two psychiatrists are expected to testify as well.
“Every detail of this case is important,” Bouthillier said. “It’s not just a battle of experts here.”
The judge asked the jury to not have a bias toward people of the Muslim faith and said that any “bias has no place in the courtroom.” Ngarukiye is a Muslim.
“Do not have a prejudice against anyone,” the judge said, reminding the jury that Ngarukiye is presumed innocent throughout the trial.
“There is no burden on Mr. Ngarukiye to prove that he is innocent.”
On Friday, 14 people, including two alternates, were selected for jury duty. On Monday, those two alternates became permanent jurors. The judge did not explain to the other 12 jurors why two had been excused and media are not allowed to report on what a jury does not hear during a trial held in Canada.
The judge also cautioned the jury about crime scene photographs that were about to be presented by the first witness, a crime scene technician with the Sûreté du Québec.
“You may find these photos to be upsetting and shocking,” the judge said.
The witness began his testimony by saying he was informed that Lapierre was beaten to death before he began his work.
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