Quebec teen who allegedly killed grandmother with axe charged with second-degree murder

A 14-year-old Quebec boy has been charged with second-degree murder after allegedly killing his 73-year-old grandmother with an axe.

At around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Quebec provincial police were called to a home on Payette Road in Sainte-Julienne, about 70 kilometres north of Montreal. When officers arrived, they found the woman who was “badly injured.”

She was transported to hospital, where she later died of her injuries.

The accused, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, appeared in court via videoconference from a hospital bed on Tuesday at approximately 9 p.m. to face a charge of aggravated assault.

The case returned to court on Wednesday and the charge was upgraded to murder.

The Crown prosecution office confirmed to CTV News that the judge ordered the youth to undergo an evaluation at the Philippe-Pinel psychiatric hospital in Montreal to determine whether or not he was suffering from a mental health problem at the time of events. The case will return to court on Jan. 6, 2026.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) said the teen boy was arrested after he lost control of a vehicle near the home.

Noovo Info reported that the teen allegedly used an axe during the attack on his grandmother and that this was not the first time tragedy has struck the family. When he was two years old, his mother was shot and killed in 2013 at their home when he and his 12-year-old sister were present.

With files from Noovo Info