Quebec man charged with second-degree murder after mother, neighbour stabbed to death

MONTREAL — The man charged with murder in a stabbing attack west of Montreal that left two women dead and a third seriously injured had a history of serious mental health problems and had recently been charged with assaulting a stranger in the neighbourhood.

Fabio Puglisi, 44, was charged Friday with two counts of second-degree murder in the killing a day earlier of his 68-year-old mother and a 53-year-old neighbour, both of whom were stabbed in a condo tower in the Montreal off-island suburb of Vaudreuil-Dorion. The victims are identified as Elisabetta Puglisi-Caucci and Manon Blanchard.

Puglisi was also charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault against another neighbour — a 70-year-old woman who was transported to hospital in critical condition Thursday but who police say is expected to survive.

During a brief court appearance by video conference from a provincial police station, the accused, whose hands were bandaged, was ordered by Quebec court Judge Joey Dubois to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he can stand trial. The request was made by defence lawyer Alexandre Dubé and was not challenged by the Crown.

“His lawyer has reason to believe that the man is not fit to stand trial,” prosecutor Lili Prévost-Gravel told reporters at the courthouse in Valleyfield, Que. “For the moment, therefore, there is an evaluation that has been requested by the court.” Puglisi is due to return to court on Thursday.

During the appearance, Puglisi rambled, talking over the lawyers at times as they discussed the case in the courtroom. He ended the appearance by saying “on that date, mon amour,” before returning to detention.

Court documents show that Puglisi has twice been found not criminally responsible for offences in 2012 and 2020.

The first involved charges of assault with a weapon, dangerous driving and hit-and-run stemming from a 2011 road-rage incident on a Montreal highway. A mental-health review decision described it as “an attack on a motorist on the highway in a paranoid delusional experience.”

The second was a 2018 fraud case involving the sale of a fake work of art attributed to celebrated Quebec artist Jean-Paul Riopelle. 

In an October 2020 decision by the province’s mental-health review board, the Commission d’examen des troubles mentaux, he was deemed not to represent a risk to public safety and was released without condition. At that time, his mental state was considered stable, no violence was reported and he lived with his mother, to whom he provided care. The commission found he was well supported by family. 

The reports noted Puglisi’s psychiatric history dates back to 2007, with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder.

More recently, court records show Puglisi was charged after he allegedly assaulted a woman with whom he had no connection in Vaudreuil-Dorion on Nov. 16. He was due in court last week in that case.

Puglisi was also ordered Friday not to contact the neighbour who survived Thursday’s attack or members of her family. He will appear in person during his next court appearance, the judge told the accused.

Residents who live in the condo development had concerns about Puglisi’s behaviour. One woman interviewed Thursday said her friend who lived on the same floor as the accused was afraid to go in the hallway and described a lot of screaming from his apartment.

 “It was definitely frightening having him around,” Colleen Baxter said, adding that he would approach her aggressively when she was bringing in groceries. “I was very leery of him,” she said.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Quebec Premier François Legault noted he grew up near Vaudreuil-Dorion and knows many people in the region. He said he was “angered” by the killings but did not want to rush to judgment or propose tougher legislation without knowing more.

“It’s too soon to know whether this could have been prevented,” Legault said during an event in L’Assomption, Que. “The investigation has to happen and we have to see exactly what happened and whether we should have known that this man was dangerous.”

“We will begin by properly analyzing the case before leaping to judgment,” Legault added. “But if it is necessary to be more severe, we will be.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2024.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press