MONTREAL -- The man accused of a random and brutal attack that shocked a neighbourhood and left a woman dead was charged with murder in a Montreal courtroom Tuesday.
Jason Derrald Sivret, 38, was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of assault stemming from the events of Sunday night.
“I saw him briefly today,” said his defence lawyer, Elfriede-Andree Duclervil. “It was not possible for me to speak to him yesterday. He was at the police station.”
He returns to court Sept. 11.
He is accused of being thrown out of a strip club for being too aggressive and then taking out his frustrations on passersby, attempting to punch several of them before walking up to a woman and beating her. She has been identified as 67-year-old Yuk Ngor Tam.
The woman was attacked at the intersection of St-Laurent Blvd. and Ste-Catherine St. and died of her injuries a few hours later.
Police say this was an isolated and random attack by a man with a criminal record, and some people who frequent the area agree that it is a peaceful area.
Peter Vorvis works at a hot dog and fries restaurant on the strip, and he says that over the past 15 years he has seen the amount of violence decrease.
“Since the past couple years the face has changed, but there's still some drug activity, prostitution, but not as much as there was," said the Belle Province cook.
However Robert Roy-Laliberte moved to the area about 18 months ago, and it's a decision that he says in some ways he regrets.
Roy-Laliberte said drug dealers and prostitutes don't even attempt to conceal their activities.
"They sell crack on the corner here. It's in daylight, they don't hide it. It's a very, very scary place to live in at the moment," Roy-Laliberte said.
