The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal from Ugo Fredette, a Quebec man who stabbed his ex-wife to death and murdered a man while trying to evade authorities in September 2017
The country’s top court rendered its decision Thursday, meaning Fredette’s sentence is upheld and he will not get a new trial.
A jury found Fredette guilty of first-degree murder in October 2019 in the deaths of Véronique Barbe and Yvon Lacasse — an elderly man he killed at a rest stop over a vehicle.
He had fled Barbe’s home in Saint-Eustache with a six-year-old boy who was found unharmed. Fredette was arrested 24 hours later in Ontario.
Since he was found guilty of first-degree murder, Fredette was given an automatic life sentence without possibility of parole for 25 years. The Parole Board of Canada can also deny an eventual application for parole.
He brought forth an appeal with Quebec’s Court of Appeal. It was ultimately dismissed in December 2021.
The country’s top court has also refused to hear Fredette’s appeal, which involved the judge’s instructions to the jury. As is customary, it did not give reasons for its decision.
— with files from The Canadian Press