MONTREAL – Quebec’s top court has accepted to hear the appeal of a former doctor who stabbed his children to death and was ordered to spend at least 17 years behind bars.
Guy Turcotte’s attorneys were hoping to seek permission Tuesday to appeal a judge’s ruling that he not be allowed to apply for parole until the 17 years are up.
READ MORE: Judge rules Guy Turcotte must serve 17 years before parole eligibility
But Justice Marie St-Pierre of the Quebec Court of Appeal said that since the appeal was actually based on a question of law alone, it wasn’t necessary to seek permission.
Instead, the challenge of the parole eligibility will be folded into an earlier appeal against his conviction on second-degree murder.
READ MORE: Turcotte’s ex-wife: ‘You broke my heart’
It will be heard sometime late this year or early 2017.
In December, a jury found Turcotte guilty in the February 2009 deaths of Olivier, 5, and Anne-Sophie, 3, who were stabbed a total of 46 times.