Quebec man, 81, gets prison sentence after admitting to killing wife with Alzheimer's disease

Gilles Brassard speaks to reporters as he arrives for sentencing at the courthouse in Laval, Que., Friday, November 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

An 81-year-old Quebec man has been sentenced to prison after admitting to killing his wife with Alzheimer's disease.

Gilles Brassard received a life sentence for second-degree murder with no chance of parole for 10 years and six months.

Brassard claimed he was acting out of compassion when he strangled his wife of 53 years, Thérèse Brassard-Lévesque, 79, with a rope at a long-term care home north of Montreal last year.

"I didn't do it out of hate, I did it out of love," he said outside of court after the sentencing on Friday.

"I could see her diminishing so much and the worst was yet to come. I wasn't capable of enduring it all."

His loved ones wiped tears off their faces as Superior Court Justice Helene di Salvo delivered her decision at the Laval courthouse Friday morning.

"The family feels so powerless. The family is hurt," said Brassard's lawyer, Elfriede Duclervil.

Last week, Brassard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

The murder was captured on the surveillance camera inside the couple's room at the Résidence Ressource Lanaudière in Terrebonne, Que. on Sept. 30, 2023.

A 79-year-old woman was found dead in the Maison l'etincelle seniors residence and the man, 81, who was found unconscious with her is being suspected. (Scott Prouse/CTV News)

Prosecutor Genevieve Aumond told the court Brassard tried to kill his wife four times, while she resisted. On the third try he told her, "close your little eyes and sleep."

On the fifth try, she stopped breathing.

Afterwards, Brassard attempted suicide at the retirement home by swallowing a large amount of medication. He was taken to hospital and recovered.

Gilles Brassard, right, alongside his lawyer Elfriede Duclervil arrives for sentencing at the courthouse in Laval, Que., Friday, November 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

He was initially charged with first-degree murder when first arrested last year.

Statements and letters by Brassard’s relatives claimed he was distressed over the lack of resources available at the CHSLD because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Having had enough of seeing his wife living in those conditions, Brassard said he decided to end both of their lives.

"I told myself, 'We've made it to 80, both of us, we've done enough, we'll leave this place and go to a better world,'" he said.

As she delivered her sentence, Justice Di Salvo said it was a case of "immeasurable sadness."

"An 80-year-old man, who tried the best he could to give the necessary care to his life partner of more than 53 years," she said. "A love story that finishes in a tragedy."

According to his lawyer, Brassard's family believes the province's under-funded health-care system is the real culprit in this case and now he will be sent to die in prison.

"My client does not represent a danger to anyone, not even a fly," Duclervil said. "He's never been violent, neither psychologically nor physically, a day in his life, and we are sending him basically to die in jail."

The sentence of 10 years and six months before parole eligibility was a joint suggestion from the Crown and defence.

With files from The Canadian Press