Crown says accused in Quebec daycare bus crash not criminally responsible
Pierre Ny St-Amand accused of killing 2 children, injuring 6 others
The man accused of killing two children and injuring six others when the bus he was driving crashed into a Montreal-area daycare two years ago should be found not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder, the Quebec Crown said Friday.
Prosecutor Karine Dalphond told Superior Court Justice Eric Downs that the Crown and defence will now present the facts of the case jointly when Pierre Ny St-Amand's murder trial is back in court on April 7. Dalphond said the Crown asked a second psychiatrist to examine Ny St-Amand after a first expert concluded he should not be held criminally responsible.
"The latter arrived at the same conclusion that the accused is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder," she told a Laval, Que., courtroom.
The development means that instead of the jury trial scheduled to start in April, the evidence will be heard by a judge alone, who will make the final decision on Ny St-Amand's criminal responsibility. The trial will include a detailed recounting of the facts and testimony from both experts.
Ny St-Amand was arrested after a transit bus crashed into the front of a daycare in Laval on the morning of Feb. 8, 2023. He was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder and other counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault. However, court documents indicate the murder charges have been downgraded to second-degree murder.
The two children killed, both four years old, were Jacob Gauthier and a girl named Maëva, whose family name is covered by a publication ban at the request of her parents.
In a statement, the Quebec Crown prosecutor's office confirmed that prosecutors may also seek to have the suspect declared a "high-risk accused," which would mean he would face stricter rules around absences from his designated treatment facility.
"The [Crown prosecutor's office] is wholeheartedly with the victims and their loved ones, and we support them every step of the way," it wrote in a statement. "Please be assured that our overriding goal is public safety."
Outside the courtroom on Friday, prosecutor Simon Blais said a judge can choose to declare someone a high-risk offender "when crimes are of such grave nature that we can expect prejudice in the future."