Granby girl's case: a first jury trial on September 13
Share November 2, 2020 11:07 a.m. Updated at 12:17 p.m. Share Case of the Granby girl: a first jury trial on September 13
Nancy Massicotte Le Nouvelliste Trois-Rivières – The file on the father and stepmother of the seven-year-old girl, killed in Granby in April 2019, was presented for the first time at the Trois-Rivières courthouse on Monday.
Under a request for a change of venue presented by the lawyers for the accused and which had been authorized by Judge Charles Ouellet, the jury trials will indeed take place in Trois-Rivières and not in Granby, where the acts were allegedly committed. That of the mother-in-law will begin on September 13, 2021 since she is detained unlike the father of the child who has been granted conditional release. He will have to return to court on April 9, 2021 at the next end of the meeting. Trial dates could then be set. He also waived the right to invoke any delay.
However, other steps must be taken before the jury hearings begin. In this sense, Judge Raymond W. Pronovost conducted a pre-hearing conference on Monday with lawyers in order to establish, in particular, a schedule of deadlines. Among other things, dates have been set to allow lawyers to debate certain preliminary motions. Note that the content of their discussions and requests are subject to a publication ban.
The two defendants (whose identities cannot be released under a publication ban aimed at protecting those of the couple's other children), attended the proceedings by videoconference and listened attentively to the discussions of the lawyers and the judge.
The 31-year-old father faces criminal negligence, forcible confinement and child abandonment charges with failure to provide him with the necessities of life, while his wife, 36, faces charges second degree murder, forcible confinement and aggravated assault.
As part of the legal proceedings, they waived their preliminary inquiry and requested separate jury trials. At least six weeks will be set aside for each case, including 30 days only for presenting proof of the lawsuit. More than 10 witnesses are expected for the Crown, represented among others by Me Claude Robitaille.
The defenses are provided by Me Martin Latour and Me Marylie Côté for the father, and Me Michel Marchand for the stepmother.
The victim, nicknamed the martyred girl of Granby, was found tied up and gagged even though she was being followed by the Direction de la protection de la jeunesse. His death, which occurred on April 30, 2019, shocked all of Quebec.
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