This story contains discussion of violence against children and suicide. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, support is available 24-7 by calling or texting 988, Canada’s national suicide prevention helpline.
Guy Turcotte, the former Quebec cardiologist found guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of his two children in 2009, was denied a request for an escorted temporary absence from prison following a hearing before the Parole Board of Canada.
Turcotte, 54, was convicted in 2015 in the stabbing deaths of his five-year-old son, Olivier, and three-year-old daughter, Anne-Sophie. He is serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 17 years.
At a hearing held at the minimum-security Archambault Institution north of Montreal, Turcotte sought permission to leave prison for a one-time supervised visit with his parents. The proposed outing would have lasted about seven hours, including travel time, and he would have remained under the supervision of correctional officers.
Addressing the board, Turcotte said he had been in an “egocentric suicidal rage” on the night he killed his children in 2009, but told members he now has much better control of his emotions.
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The Parole Board acknowledged Turcotte’s progress, noting he has been a model inmate and citing a recent psychiatric evaluation that found he presents a low risk of recidivism.
However, board members concluded it was too soon to grant the request, citing the exceptional gravity of the crime and the continuing pain caused by the killings.
Turcotte was originally found not criminally responsible for the deaths in 2011, but that verdict was overturned on appeal. Following a second trial, he was convicted of second-degree murder in December 2015.
His former wife, Isabelle Gaston, attended the hearing and delivered a victim impact statement opposing the request. Speaking through tears, she described the lasting effects of the murders, saying she continues to live with pain and anxiety and has suffered emotionally, physically and financially.
Gaston said she remains haunted by the loss of her children and by milestones they never reached.
She welcomed the board’s decision but said she is not fundamentally opposed to Turcotte one day being allowed to leave prison. “If he goes through that process of recognizing everything, then I think he should be allowed,” Gaston said. “People will find that I’m bizarre, but I really think that we have to have hope and he’s allowed to have hope also.”
Gaston said she could never forgive Turcotte, adding that forgiveness does not belong to her but to their children. She said she plans to submit another victim impact statement should Turcotte again seek supervised absences from prison.
A spokesperson for the Parole Board of Canada said decisions on escorted temporary absence requests are not typically published, but may be delivered orally at the conclusion of a hearing.
–with files from The Canadian Press
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