Quebec appeal court orders new trial for man who fatally stabbed store clerk in 2016

MONTREAL – Quebec’s highest court has ordered a new trial for a Quebec man convicted in 2017 of stabbing to death a supermarket clerk.

The Court of Appeal ruled Monday that the trial judge’s final instructions to jurors were confusing and complicated.

The appeal court overturned Randy Tshilumba’s conviction and ordered a new trial.

Tshilumba was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2016 killing of Clémence Beaulieu-Patry, 20, and sentenced to life in prison.

He had pleaded not guilty and testified he acted in self-defence because he believed Beaulieu-Patry wanted to kill him and other people in the store. His lawyer had argued that Tshilumba was suffering from a mental disorder.

The Court of Appeal says the trial judge erred by telling jurors that the defendant’s behaviour after the killing was not relevant in determining guilt.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2022.