Psychiatric evaluation completed for man accused of crashing bus into Quebec daycare

MONTREAL — A psychiatric hospital has completed an evaluation of a man accused of killing two young children by driving a city bus into a Montreal-area daycare, but its contents will remain sealed, a court heard on Wednesday.

Montreal’s Philippe-Pinel institute was mandated to evaluate Pierre Ny St-Amand’s mental state at the time of his alleged crimes on Feb. 8. Both the Crown and the defence told a Laval, Que., courtroom on Wednesday that they had only received the 22-page report earlier that morning, and they asked that the case be postponed until June 13 to allow them to evaluate its contents.

St-Amand was judged fit to stand trial on Feb. 24 after an initial psychiatric evaluation, but his lawyer, Julien Lespérance Hudon, asked for another assessment to help determine whether the accused should be held criminally responsible for his actions.

Lespérance Hudon said following the hearing that he needed to consult with his client and the Crown to determine the next steps in the case. He said that a medical concept of criminal responsibility is not exactly the same as a legal one.

“It’s not necessarily because he’s found not criminally responsible by a medical expert that legally he (would be) not responsible,” he told reporters outside the courtroom. Only the judge, the Crown and the defence in the case are allowed to read the report, he added.

St-Amand appeared in court by video conference and listened without showing emotion as the judge ordered the evaluation sealed. 

The 51-year-old driver with the Laval transit corporation was arrested after a bus crashed into the front of a daycare in the city’s Ste-Rose neighbourhood, killing two four-year-olds and injuring six other children.

He faces two counts of first-degree murder as well as seven other charges, including attempted murder and aggravated assault.

Maëva David and Jacob Gauthier, both four years old, were killed in the crash, which injured six other children.

It was initially unclear whether St-Amand would remain at the hospital or be returned to a conventional detention centre while awaiting his next court appearance. 

Prosecutor Karine Dalphond said she believed the accused would be transferred because the evaluation was complete, but Lespérance Hudon said his client would remain at the psychiatric hospital until his next court date. He did not give a reason for the continued hospitalization, other than to say that such a decision is generally based on a treatment plan.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2023.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press