Quebec wants answers after convicted killer out on parole allegedly kills again

Quebec’s justice minister wants answers from the federal government following the slaying of a 22-year-old woman, allegedly killed by a man previously convicted of murder and out on parole.

Sonia LeBel told reporters today she was extremely concerned by the facts surrounding the death of Marylene Levesque, a sex worker allegedly killed by 51-year-old Eustachio Gallese in Quebec City on Wednesday.

In 2006, Gallese was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 15 years, after he killed his 32-year-old partner by beating her with a hammer before repeatedly stabbing her.

LeBel says federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair must find out why the decision was made to release him, and whether the parole board has enough resources to make sound evaluations on the risks prisoners pose to the public.

The federal parole board had concluded Gallese posed a moderate risk of committing violence against a partner, and after letting him out of prison on supervised outings in 2016, released him to a halfway house last March.

Gallese turned himself in to police Wednesday night and was charged the following day with second-degree murder.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 24, 2020.

The Canadian Press