Montreal man on trial for murder in ex-girlfriend’s death finishes testimony

The man accused in the first-degree murder of his former girlfriend near McGill University finished his testimony Friday afternoon.

The man accused of first-degree murder in the death of his former girlfriend near McGill University finished his testimony Friday afternoon.

François Pelletier is defending himself in his trial in the killing of 24-year-old Romane Bonnier, who was stabbed to death in 2021.

The prosecution wrapped up its cross-examination in the trial and Pelletier is acting as his own lawyer in the case. On at least three occasions, he seemed to admit to killing her. He testified that he considered himself a soldier of God, and that he had to kill Bonnier to protect her from the apocalypse.

His testimony got so confused that at one point the jury asked why they had to listen to it. The cross-examination by the prosecution was considerably more direct. Pelletier was asked about the three options he considered when he made the decision to kill Bonnier.

On the stand, Pelletier admitted his first option was murder by strangulation, but couldn’t figure out how to do it. His second option was to shoot his victim but Pelletier said he couldn’t afford a gun.

He went for the third option, which was to stab his victim. Security cameras showed the entire sequence where a man can be seen repeatedly stabbing Bonnier.

Pelletier has also alluded to some mental health issues, but so far, provided no expert testimony.

Pelletier said the jury had to see a particular episode of the hit Netflix series, Black Mirror, because he says they’ll better understand his state of mind. There’s been a lot of objection by the prosecution and questions from the judge regarding the relevancy of showing this to the jury, but so far, the court has provided the accused with a considerable amount of leeway.