Victim impact statements today in trial of accused in fatal Quebec daycare bus crash
LAVAL - Families affected by a deadly bus crash at a Montreal-area daycare in 2023 are scheduled to read victim impact statements today in court.
Earlier in the week a Quebec Superior Court judge accepted a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence that Pierre Ny St-Amand is not criminally responsible for killing two children and injuring six others.
During his trial, doctors said the 53-year-old former city bus driver was experiencing psychosis and didn't know right from wrong when he drove a bus into the daycare on Feb. 8, 2023.
He killed four-year-old Jacob Gauthier and a five-year-old girl named Maëva, whose family name is covered by a publication ban at the request of her parents.
The Crown has said as many as 10 people will deliver statements during what is expected to be an emotional day.
Prosecutors have said they plan to have Ny St-Amand declared a high-risk offender, a designation that would impose stricter rules on him and require any decision taken by the provincial mental health tribunal to be confirmed by the Superior Court.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Search operation underway for man, 20, who possibly drowned at Verdun Beach
Montreal police and firefighters are searching for a 20-year-old man who went missing in the waters of the St. Lawrence River near Verdun Beach on Saturday afternoon. Police say several 911 calls were placed at about 5:20 p.m. concerning a man in distress in the water. When police arrived at the scene, they were unable to locate him from the shore, police spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils said. Nautical patrols with Montreal police and firefighters are currently on the water. The Canadian Coast Guard has also been called in to help with the search operation, Chèvrefils said. According to preliminary information, the man was partaking in a sporting activity in the water when he started to feel unwell, she said. Police have evacuated the beach and are interviewing witnesses.
USA Today
17 hours ago
- USA Today
'Ringleader' charged with burglaries of MLB, NFL stars' Seattle homes, prosecutors say
'Ringleader' charged with burglaries of MLB, NFL stars' Seattle homes, prosecutors say "House being robbed at gun point with my family in it isn't what anyone wants for a birthday gift," former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said in March on X. Show Caption Hide Caption Former NFL player Richard Sherman's home robbed at gunpoint Former NFL player Richard Sherman posted video on X of his Washington home being robbed at gunpoint. Washington state authorities have charged and accused a man of robbing the homes of multiple professional Seattle-area athletes, including former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez. The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office announced the charges on June 6 against the 21-year-old man, whom they did not identify. County inmate records, along with reporting by ABC News and NBC News, say that Earl Henderson Riley IV was booked on June 6 for four counts of residential burglary, one count of first-degree robbery, one count of eluding police and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. The prosecuting attorney's office alleges the Seattle man burglarized the homes of Sherman, Rodríguez, Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell, who is from the area. Prosecutors say the alleged serial burglar is being held in the King County Jail on $1 million bail. 'Scary situation' In March, Sherman commented on the burglary of his home in an X post, saying, "House being robbed at gun point with my family in it isn't what anyone wants for a birthday gift. Scary situation that my wife handled masterfully and kept my kids safe. If anyone has any info that can help find these people please reach out." In the post, Sherman included video of the burglary, which shows three masked and hooded men jumping out of his home's window and fleeing, two of them carrying bags. 'The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office worked for weeks on multiple search warrants that led to the filing of these felony charges today,' King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said in a statement. "All people deserve to feel safe in their homes, and our office will continue to hold people accountable for criminal behavior.' Alleged burglar in custody deemed the 'ringleader' The investigation into the burglaries began in early 2025, the prosecuting attorney's office said, adding that it was working with six different police jurisdictions in the case at one point. The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed against others who are believed to be involved, according to the prosecutors. Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Gary Ernsdorff called the individual in custody the "ringleader of this bunch," and by charging him, it allowed authorities to "interrupt this burglary crew," he added. "That doesn't mean our work is finished. We still want to go and identify everybody who was involved and see if there are additional people that we can have sufficient evidence to charge," Ernsdorff said in a statement. The prosecuting attorney's office said the alleged burglar was previously held in custody and released by the court on Feb. 7, after pleading guilty to three separate robbery counts. Court records reviewed by USA TODAY show Riley pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree robbery on Jan. 27, stemming from an arrest on Aug. 15, 2023. According to the prosecuting attorney's office, the individual in custody has another pending King County Superior Court case, which includes the eluding police and first-degree unlawful firearm possession charges. Like Riley, the office said the alleged burglar was booked into the King County Jail on June 6. Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at JLimehouse@
a day ago
Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash
MINNEAPOLIS -- A state court jury convicted a Minneapolis-area man Friday of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide in the deaths of five young women in a crash that authorities said was caused by him speeding, running a red light and slamming into their car. Jurors in Hennepin County District Court deliberated two days before reaching their verdict in the case of Derrick John Thompson, 29, of Brooklyn Park, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. In November, a federal court jury convicted Thompson on drug and firearms charges because investigators found a handgun, ammunition and illegal drugs in his vehicle after the June 2023 crash, and he is awaiting sentencing in that case. He was convicted Friday of 15 charges and his sentencing is set for July 24. Third-degree murder is unintentionally causing a death through 'eminently dangerous' actions and with 'a depraved mind, without regard for human life.' 'His choices that day scarred many lives and affected an entire community,' Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty told reporters following the verdict, according to KARE-TV. The Minneapolis crash victims — Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi — were between 17 and 20 years old, on their way home from preparations for a friend's wedding. Their deaths sparked sorrow and outage among Minnesota's sizeable Somali American population. Prosecutors have said Thompson was driving a black Cadillac Escalade on a Minnesota freeway at 95 mph (153 kph) in a 55 mph- (89 kph-) speed zone and abruptly cut across four lanes of traffic to exit the freeway, flying by a state highway patrol trooper. Thompson's defense attorney, Tyler Bliss, raised questions about whether Thompson's brother might have played a role in the crash that authorities did not investigate. The brother was not charged and testified that he didn't drive the SUV the night of the crash and Thompson was the last person he saw behind the wheel. Bliss called that testimony 'self-serving.' Thompson previously served part of an eight-year prison sentence in California in connection with a 2018 hit-and-run accident that severely injured a woman in the Santa Barbara area. He was released from prison there months before the crash in Minneapolis. Court records show that Thompson is the son of a former Democratic state representative from St. Paul who was sharply critical of police during his one term in office.
