Four years ago, Lina Petrilli saw her life unfold. Her neighbor Denis Leblanc, who had allegedly threatened and harassed her in the past, stood at her door with a gun and an “angry face.” According to her, he had just shot her two sisters.
Posted at 4:44 p.m
This is the horrific scene seen at the 63-year-old's trial on Wednesday morning. Denis Leblanc is accused of the premeditated murders of Diane and Sylvie Leblanc on October 3, 2020, as well as the attempted murder of his neighbor Lina Petrilli and police officers Patrick Rochon and Sébastien Houle. According to the prosecution's theory, Denis Leblanc shot his two sisters on the balcony behind his house before climbing over their bodies to try to kill Lina Petrilli.
“I had a bad feeling,” she explained in her statement on Wednesday morning.
The defendant's neighbor saw the two sisters talking to their brother in the morning. She told the jury that she heard the man respond by raising his voice. “What are you doing here, you have no business being here!” he told them.
According to the victim, the defendant began talking about COVID-19 restrictions.
Lina Petrilli immediately calls the police to report a conflict. During that 911 call, she heard a gunshot.
“I think he just shot his sister,” she said. Then, according to her statement, she saw one of the victims fall from the stairs. She is still on the phone when she hears the second shot.
“Is there anyone else who wants to be shot or killed? »Denis Leblanc said at the time, according to another witness heard by the jury. She said she saw one of the victims receive the first shot.
In a panic, Lina Petrilli returns home and locks the doors.
“I was just thinking about saving my skin,” she explained with emotion.
She sees Denis Leblanc with his rifle in front of her door. She told the jury that he broke her window with a plunger and unlocked the lock. “He had black black eyes and the face of a super angry guy,” Ms. Petrilli recalled. He was in a firing position, “like someone who was hunting,” she described.
As she runs away, she hears gunshots in her house. She takes refuge in a two-family house, just a few steps away from her home.
At that moment she sees the police and Denis Leblanc, still armed.
In the end he drops his weapon. Lying on the ground, he searches the pockets of his coat as the agents rush toward him. “That’s when I see him lighting a cigarette,” Ms. Petrilli said.
PHOTOS FILED AS EVIDENCE
The police found hunting weapons and ammunition in Denis Leblanc's apartment.
PHOTOS FILED AS EVIDENCE
PHOTOS FILED AS EVIDENCE
PHOTOS FILED AS EVIDENCE
SOURCE: PHOTOS SUBMITTED AS EVIDENCE
PHOTOS FILED AS EVIDENCE
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“ THE The devil is awake »
It is the morning of October 3, 2020, shortly before the double murder. From her balcony, Ms. Petrilli heard Denis Leblanc shouting, “The devil is awake,” over loud music that, according to the witness statement, appeared to be coming from the defendant’s apartment.
He makes incoherent comments on the phone and says he would “wash” his phone.
According to Ms. Petrilli's description, the defendant walked toward an alley and threw him against a brick wall. “He was angry,” the witness described.
When the defendant is busy repairing the damage, he gives him the finger. The jury was shown several photographs and audio recordings taken by Ms Petrilli of the events leading up to the murders.
“I said to myself, it doesn’t smell good. Something will happen Today ” she repeated in the courtroom.
She referred to snatches of conversation between a neighbor and Denis Leblanc that he had heard on the morning of the murder. The latter appeared to be drunk, she said on Wednesday. She hears the neighbor saying, ‘This is illegal, keep your voice down.’ You don’t have the right to do that,” the neighbor recalled.
According to her, Denis Leblanc then makes various worrying comments: he talks about his sister, about multiple loaded weapons, mentions the police with the words “I hope they are women” and speaks vulgarly about Ms. Petrilli.
Insults and threats
A few months before the double murder, Lina Petrilli had rejected the advances of her neighbor Denis Leblanc. “I had a strong idea that Mr. Leblanc was in love with me. » Feelings that she did not share, Ms. Petrilli made clear in the courtroom.
After her refusal, the defendant began insulting and threatening her one morning in February, she told jurors. He calls her a dog, a slut, advises her to “pay attention to her” and, according to her account, alludes to a kidnapping. “He said he would file a complaint with my employer.”
“When I come home from work, he continues to taunt me. » The situation worries him so much that he calls the police.
When agents visited Denis Leblanc in connection with this complaint, he appeared hostile, according to Ms. Petrilli. “He didn’t open the door for the police and started insulting them. I don't know what was said, but it spoke loudly. »
Her neighbor continued to send her threatening messages even after authorities visited, she continued.
I told myself he wanted to hurt me. I didn't feel trapped, just like I had to be careful.
Lina Petrilli
The trial against Denis Leblanc is expected to last several weeks. I, Alexandre Garel and I, François Létourneau-Prézeau, defend the defendants. I Pierre-Olivier Bolduc and I Katerine Brabant represent the crown.