Quebec’s highest court has ordered a new trial for a Quebec man convicted in 2017 of stabbing to death a supermarket clerk.
The Court of Appeal ruled Monday that the trial judge’s final instructions to jurors were confusing and complicated.
The appeal court overturned Randy Tshilumba’s conviction and ordered a new trial.
Tshilumba was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2016 killing of Clémence Beaulieu-Patry, 20, and sentenced to life in prison.
He had pleaded not guilty and testified he acted in self-defence because he believed Beaulieu-Patry wanted to kill him and other people in the store. His lawyer had argued that Tshilumba was suffering from a mental disorder.
The Court of Appeal says the trial judge erred by telling jurors that the defendant’s behaviour after the killing was not relevant in determining guilt.