Ugo Fredette, a Quebec man sentenced to 25 years in prison for committing two murders, has failed in his bid for a new trial.

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal rejected his request Friday.

On Sept. 14, 2017, Fredette killed his ex-wife Veronique Barbe, 41, with a knife before fleeing, taking a six-year-old child with him. He then beat to death Yvon Lacasse, a 71-year-old motorist whom he did not know and whose car he stole to continue his escape with the child.

He was apprehended the next day in Ontario.

His lawyer, Sylvain Comtois, had argued before the Court of Appeal last September that Judge Myriam Lachance had erred in her instructions to the jury at the end of the trial in October 2019. The judge had told the jurors that they had to consider offences underlying the two murder charges, but that they did not need to be unanimous in their judgment on those offences, only on the final verdict of first-degree murder.

On the contrary, Comtois believed that the jurors had to be unanimous on these issues to reach their verdict.

The decision of the Court of Appeal, signed by Justice Patrick Healy, rejected this contention.

The decision stated that "as long as the evidence is sufficient and the charges are sufficient, the law remains 'indifferent' as to which alternative definition was chosen by the jury."

Justice Healy concluded that "the jury need not be unanimous on every fact and every piece of evidence. In reaching its verdict, some members of the jury may rely on certain facts or evidence while other members rely on other facts or evidence.

"This principle has long been established," said Justice Healy.

He concluded that "there is nothing in the trial judge's instructions that contradicts this understanding (of the case law) and no error is shown in the circumstances."

25 OR 50 YEARS?

Judge Lachance had sentenced Ugo Fredette to life in prison without parole for 25 years, despite the fact that the Crown was asking for a minimum of 50 years, or consecutive sentences of 25 years for each of the two murders.

However, the court had to wait for the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of the Quebec City Mosque killer, Alexandre Bissonnette, before making a decision. Bissonnette was then appealing his sentence of a minimum of 40 years in prison in the first instance.

In November 2020, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision as unconstitutional and reduced Alexandre Bissonnette's sentence to a minimum of 25 years in prison. Last January, Judge Lachance had decided on 25 years, since her hands were tied by the Court of Appeal's decision.

However, the Court of Appeal's decision in Alexandre Bissonnette's case is under appeal to the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule next year on the issue of cumulative sentencing.

In the case of Ugo Fredette, the Crown is still asking for 50 years in prison and is waiting for the Supreme Court's decision on whether or not to go ahead with this request.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 10, 2021.