Quebec City Halloween night stabbing suspect returns to court for brief hearing

QUEBEC — The 24-year-old man accused in the Quebec City Halloween night sword attack appeared briefly before a judge Tuesday.

Carl Girouard appeared by video conference in a Quebec City courtroom as the Crown continued to disclose more evidence in his case.

He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder after a man dressed in a medieval costume and wielding a Japanese-style sword went on a rampage Oct. 31 in Quebec City’s historic district.

Two local residents, Francois Duchesne, 56, and Suzanne Clermont, 61, were killed, and five others were seriously injured in the attack.

Duchesne was the director of communications for the Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec while Clermont worked as a hairdresser in the neighbourhood where she lived.

Four of the five people injured have also been identified after the court lifted a publication ban on their identities: Remy Belanger, Gilberto Porras, Lisa Mahmoud and Pierre Lagrevol.

Prosecutor Francois Godin told the court the Crown had almost completed disclosure, adding that some laboratory test results were pending.

Girouard, from Ste-Therese, a suburb north of Montreal, remains in detention and is scheduled to return to court March 12.

He is now represented by Pierre Gagnon, a defence lawyer who primarily practises in the Chicoutimi judicial district north of the provincial capital.

On Tuesday, the court authorized the release of Girouard’s seized vehicle as well as a cellphone belonging to a victim.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2021.

Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the cellphone released belonged to the accused.