The man accused of killing two people with a sword in the city of Quebec on Halloween night 2020 testified on Wednesday that after the second murder, he began to have doubts about what he called his “mission”. Carl Girouard, 26, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of François Duchesne, 56, and Suzanne Clermont, 61, on October 31, 2020, and five counts of attempted murder. He admits that he killed Duchesne and Clermont and injured five others, but his lawyer will argue that he was not criminally responsible at the time of the incident because he suffered from a mental disorder. Zirouar testified that his goal was to create chaos, change the world, and encourage his like-minded “alter egos” to pursue his goal. He said that until the age of 18, he believed he had a “top secret” mission to kill and that his life would be sacrificed at the end of it. After Clermont’s assassination, however, he said he began to question his actions. “I thought I would have a sense of accomplishment, but that was not the case,” Jirouard told the jury. “I decided that there should be no more death, mine or anyone else’s.” Zirouar said his original plan was to attack people inside the Château Frontenac hotel in the historic district’s historic district. Finding the door locked, he left for a while before returning and attacking people on the streets near the hotel. He was armed with a Japanese-style sword called a katana with a 76.9 cm blade and wore black clothes and a short-sleeved kimono. Zirouar told the court he was scared when he arrived in Quebec City and did not want to go ahead with his plan, but felt he had no choice. Describe the killings as a duty. “I went against my will, I did not want to, but I had to,” Zirouar said. “I saw many people and attacked them with my sword to carry out my mission.” Tied and handcuffed to the witness box, he told the court that the attack had to take place on Halloween because there would be a full moon. He said he chose Old Quebec because its historic buildings and statues were reminiscent of the medieval video games he loved. Zirouar said part of his plan involved killing his family and setting their house on fire before being taken to Quebec City, so police found gas canisters in his car. He did not go through the ritual. “I told myself it was not necessary,” he said. Earlier, he told the court that he was obsessed with video games in his adolescence — especially those involving swords and knives — and began to confuse reality with video games. He said he remembers saying to himself “that we should live like in video games”. Answering questions from his lawyer, Pierre Gagnon, Girouard described himself as two different people – one who went to work and lived in the real world and another who was focused on the mission. Gagnon asked who Girouard was speaking to the jury. “There is a Carl Girouard who is with you today, who likes to make people laugh and help others,” Girouard said. “He is different from Carl Zirouar from the mission, who feels compelled to isolate himself. But that is a thing of the past. Carl Zirouar is no longer from the mission.” His obsession with his plan often made him quit his job when he felt that his colleagues were trying to get to know him. He said he avoided close relationships to stay focused on his goal. After the COVID-19 pandemic struck, he quit his job and played video games. Girouard’s mother, Monique Dalphond, told the court earlier that her son had a long history of problems. He said he reported misbehavior starting in elementary school, adding that a child psychologist intervened and Zirouar took medication for a while. She told the court that her son took a credit card when he turned 18 and spent his money collecting katana swords and samurai clothes – his only interests, he said, besides video games. Zirouar, he added, “had no real friends, girlfriend or social life.” Dalphond told the court she first heard about her son’s plan when police knocked on her door after the attacks. The Crown, which claimed that Zirouar had already announced its plan to kill people with a sword in 2014, will continue with a counter-examination on Thursday. This Canadian Press report was first published on April 27, 2022. – From Sidhartha Banerjee to Montreal.
