Judge to rule on criminal responsibility of man charged in Montreal triple slaying

A judge is to rule today in the case of a man who stabbed his parents and grandmother to death inside their Montreal home.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Annie Émond will be considering a joint submission from the Crown and defence attorneys who argued in December that Arthur Galarneau, 22, was not criminally responsible for the crimes since he was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the triple murder.

Galarneau is charged in the March 2023 stabbing deaths of his mother, Mylène Gingras, 53, father Richard Galarneau, also 53, and his grandmother Francine Gingras-Boucher, 75.

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The evidence presented to Émond last month included testimony from a psychiatrist who concluded Galarneau was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the killings, and that he was experiencing delusions, hallucinations, and psychotic symptoms that prevented him from distinguishing right from wrong.

The Crown has said it intends to have Galarneau declared a high-risk offender, which could impose tighter restrictions on his freedom of movement or prevent him from leaving a psychiatric hospital.

Galarneau’s lawyers have said they would contest a high-risk offender designation.

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