QUEBEC – A Quebec man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the October 2020 killings of his young sons.

Michaël Chicoine entered the plea on Wednesday and was sentenced by Quebec Superior Court Justice François Huot, who had harsh words for the accused before agreeing to a sentence recommended jointly by the Crown and defence.

Chicoine, 32, admitted to killing Alex, 2, and Olivier, 5, at a home in Wendake, a Huron-Wendat First Nation territory near Quebec City. The court requested a psychiatrist’s report to ensure Chicoine understood the impact of his plea.

He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 16 years and six months, minus time he spent in preventive detention since October 2020.

The guilty plea puts an end to the legal proceedings and avoids a jury trial that was set to begin in January in Quebec City

The mother of the two boys, Émilie Arseneault, is suing the Quebec government for $2 million, alleging youth protection services failed to act despite her raising concerns about Chicoine three times before the killings.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2022.