Reaction has been swift to the announcement that Guy Turcotte, a Montreal doctor who stabbed his children to death, has been found not criminally responsible.
The children’s mother, Isabelle Gaston, wept afterwards. She expressed a desire to move on with her life. “With this verdict, my path will really not be easy,” she told reporters in Saint-Jerome, Que. “I’m in shock.”
Hundreds of others took to social media to discuss the verdict, which came after six days of deliberation.
“What is happening in this world?!? Madness!” Tweeted renauniversal.
Added a Twitter user with the handle JD HABS96: “The jury members in the guy turcotte trial should all be sentenced to medical exams to see if they are stable in the head..”
A user whose handle is Angie0683 reported feeling “sick over the Guy Turcotte thing” and added that “the jurors should feel sick. This has nothing to do with the judicial system,” she concluded, “It’s all on the people.”
Some major Quebec television personalities have also expressed their disgust.
“Very, very, very disappointing verdict. Criminally not responsible! I don’t believe it," wrote Guy A. Lepage, host of popular television talk show Tout le monde en parle, on his own Twitter account.
Another prominent Quebec TV personality, Julie Snyder, wrote that she was crying while thinking of the verdict: "I’m astonished," she added.
Jury decides that Turcotte had a mental breakdown
The jury in the high-profile trial ruled that a mental breakdown absolved Turcotte of criminal guilt.
The shocking details of the case have been front and centre in the news for the past few months as the sensational trial made Turcotte a household name in the province.
Turcotte had been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his son Olivier, 5, and daughter Anne-Sophie, 3.
While the 39-year-old former cardiologist had admitted to causing the deaths of the children in a rented home north of Montreal in 2009, he had denied intent.
The defence focused on Turcotte’s state of mind at the time of the killings and dragged out its closing argument over an exhaustive four days, compared to the prosecution’s several hours.
Turcotte testified that he only remembered bits and pieces of the evening; experts testifying on his behalf said he snapped after learning his wife was cheating on him and his marriage was finished.
Turcotte said he planned to end his own life on the night of Feb. 20, 2009 after reading e-mails between his ex-wife Isabelle Gaston and her new lover, her personal trainer Martin Huot.
He started drinking windshield washer fluid to that end, but decided at some point that he didn’t want his children to wake up the following morning and find their father dead.
So, according to his testimony, Turcotte decided that he’d take the children with him.
Turcotte’s lawyers argued that the former cardiologist loved his children but was unable to cope with the breakup of his marriage.
Feeling increasingly marginalized, he had sunk into a deep depression in the days leading up to his children’s deaths. The killings occurred just one month after the couple had split.
The jury of seven women and four men had several possible verdicts from which to choose: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, or not criminally responsible by reason of mental illness.
Acquittal was not an option.
Turcotte will head back to jail before being moved to a mental hospital where he will soon undergo an evaluation by Quebec’s review board for mental disorder. If they deem him fit, he could potentially be released.
The trial lasted about two months and heard from nearly 40 witnesses, including numerous experts.
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With files from The Canadian Press
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