Quebecer, 81, sentenced to life in prison for killing ailing wife ‘out of love’

LAVAL, Que. — An 81-year-old Quebec man said Friday he killed his ailing wife out of love and compassion, as he was sentenced to serve at least 10 years and six months in prison for her murder.

Gilles Brassard told reporters on the way into the courtroom in a Montreal suburb that he couldn’t stand watching his wife of more than 50 years deteriorate from Alzheimer’s disease.

“I didn’t do it out of hate, I did it for love, and out of great compassion,” he said at the Laval, Que., courthouse. “I saw her diminish so much, and the worst was to come, and I couldn’t endure that.”

Brassard pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder in the September 2023 death of Thérèse Brassard-Lévesque at a care home in Terrebonne, Que., north of Montreal.

The court heard that it took Brassard several attempts to strangle his wife with a rope in an assault that was caught on camera, before he swallowed medication in a suicide attempt.

Testimony from members of the couple’s family that were read in court painted Brassard as a loving husband and father, who tried to care for his wife as long as he could before she became too ill and aggressive to live at home.

“He devoted himself body and soul to my mother,” read a letter from one of the couple’s children.

Brassard told police after his arrest that he felt that his wife hadn’t been receiving proper care in the facility where she had been moved, and that the food was “disgusting,” the court heard. Brassard recounted how his wife had become physically aggressive toward him as her illness worsened, had lost the ability to speak and was no longer recognizing her relatives.

It was after a particularly difficult day that he made the decision to end both their lives, he told reporters before the hearing.

“I told myself, ‘we’ve made it to 80, both of us, we’ve done enough, we’ll leave this place and go to a better world,'” he said.

Superior Court Justice Hélène Di Salvo, who appeared emotional at times, called the case one of “immeasurable sadness” as she delivered her sentence.

“An 80-year-old man, who tried the best he could to give the necessary care to his life partner of more than 53 years,” she said. “A love story that finishes in a tragedy.”

Brassard was surrounded by members of his family, and wiped away tears as the judge read excerpts of the letters of support from his children and grandchildren. Several members of his family sobbed as he was led away to begin his sentence.

Second-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 10 years before an offender can apply for parole. The sentence of 10 years and six months before parole eligibility was a joint suggestion of the Crown and defence.

Brassard’s lawyer told reporters after the hearing that the Brassard family feel the true culprit is the province’s under-resourced health system that abandoned them and failed to provide proper care.

While inevitable given the guilty plea, Elfriede Duclervil said the penalty amounted to a death sentence for her elderly client and served no benefit to society.

“My client does not represent a danger to anyone, not even a fly,” she said. “He’s never been violent, neither psychologically nor physically, a day in his life, and we are sending him basically to die in jail.”

Duclervil noted the similarities between her client’s case and that of Michel Cadotte, who was sentenced to two years in prison in 2019 after being convicted of manslaughter in the death of his wife, who also had Alzheimer’s.

While the cases are different, Duclervil said both men were pushed by desperation to commit “reprehensible” acts out of love and compassion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2024.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press