2024-01-18 18:45:14
Twist in the case of the father accused of a triple murder in the fall of 2022: he wants to drop his lawyer in the middle of a preliminary investigation, but was refused by the judge.
• Read also: Triple murder in Brossard: the preliminary investigation begins in front of several relatives of the victims
Mohamad Al Ballouz, 37, is accused of the premeditated murders of his two children, aged 2 and 5, as well as the unpremeditated murder of his partner, Synthia Buissières, 38 years old.
The bodies of the victims were found in their apartment on the 12th floor of a condo building on Saint-Laurent Street, in Brossard.
Synthia Buissières, one of the victims. COURTESY family Photo Courtesy (victims’ family)
Witnesses must come and tell the court what they observed at the time during the preliminary investigation, which must help the court determine whether the evidence collected is sufficient to order a trial.
However, a publication ban prevents us from revealing the facts of the case at this stage of the proceedings.
The first witnesses, the majority of firefighters and paramedics who intervened at the crime scene, were heard on Monday. The procedure was suspended by mutual agreement between the parties on Tuesday and Wednesday and resumed this morning.
Turnaround
But after the second testimony of the morning – the ninth since the start of the preliminary investigation – the accused informed his lawyer that he was withdrawing the mandate to represent him.
Me Marc Labelle made the announcement in court upon returning from the morning break, around 11 a.m. Thursday.
A turnaround that took everyone by surprise, both the Crown lawyer, Mr. Éric Nadeau, and Judge Julie-Maude Greffe, but also the twenty members of the victims’ family present in the courtroom.
“My decision is to be represented by the lawyer of my choice,” the accused simply said.
The judge demanded more details to justify such an about-face, which compromises the holding of the preliminary investigation scheduled for another seven days.
“All the witnesses are assigned for this week, next week too, things are going smoothly, efficiently. This will cause significant delays,” the judge told the accused.
“Fundamental right”
“It’s my fundamental right,” he replied.
Ethically, a defense lawyer must withdraw from a case if his client withdraws the mandate, unless a magistrate orders otherwise.
And that’s what Judge Greffe did.
The accused actually admitted to not having yet found a new lawyer to represent him, which would force the cancellation of this preliminary investigation.
“The good administration of justice must be taken into account,” she ruled.
The judge will deliver the reasons for her decision at 2 p.m.
More details to come…
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