Man accused of double homicide changes plea twice, gets life sentence

CTV Montreal: Life in prison for Pepin A man who pled guilty to killing his mother and grandmother was sentenced to life in prison on Monday.

A man accused of murdering his mother and grandmother received a life sentence on Monday, hours after changing his plea from guilty to not guilty and then back again.

In a rollercoaster hearing at the Montreal courthouse, Christian Pepin attempted to change a previously entered not-guilty plea before quickly reversing course on Monday morning.

Pepin pled guilty last week to murdering his 55-year-old mother and 75-year-old grandmother in December. The 35-year-old Pepin has a lengthy history of violent crimes.

On Monday, as the prosecution prepared to request a life sentence, Pepin’s attorney announced his client’s desire to withdraw the guilty plea and go to trial.

In a statement to the court, Pepin complained of how he’d been portrayed in the media and claimed to have been a victim of abuse at his mother’s hands.

“I think when you’re dealing with double murder in the first degree a lot of elements come to the fore, there’s a lot of emotion, there’s a lot of pain involved,” said Pepin’s attorney Tom Pentefountas. “I think the judge really encapsulated that situation by saying it’s a gentleman who’s gone through a lot of pain but has inflicted a lot of pain as well.”

Later in the day, Pepin recanted the not guilty plea and was handed his sentence. He will have no possibility of parole for 25 years.

During last week’s plea hearing, Pepin let loose an angry outburst, saying he wasn’t sorry for what he did and threatened surviving members of his family.

- With files from The Canadian Press