Quebec mom devastated after man who killed her daughter in hit-and-run gets out after 5 months

A Montreal-area mother is furious with Quebec's justice system because the man who killed her 25-year-old daughter in a 2022 hit-and-run was released from jail after only serving one-sixth of his sentence behind bars.

To add salt to the wound, she says she only found out he was released more than a week after he got out.

In an interview with CTV News on Monday, Éliane Dell said she felt "destroyed, mad, stressed, angry" about the decision.

"I can't understand that he killed my child, then not even five months later he's already released," she said.

Her daughter, Clarissa St-Armand Dell, was walking home from the bar shortly before 4:30 a.m. on June 24, 2022, when a vehicle crashed into her at the intersection of Rome Boulevard and Lautrec Street in Brossard, on Montreal's South Shore. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A strong mother-daughter bond

Two years later, Dell said waking up every day is a struggle. She had her daughter at 20 years old and had to raise her as a single mother. The bond they shared was unbreakable.

"We were always, always, always together. Always," she said through tears.

"Clarissa, she was my daughter, but she was my best friend, my confidant."

Clarissa St-Armand Dell was 25 years old when she was killed. (Source: Noovo Info)

The driver did not stop after her daughter was fatally struck and was arrested two weeks later.

Jose Luis Raymond was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death and failure to stop after an accident resulted in death. He was sentenced on Feb. 2, 2024, to just under two years in jail.

Last month, he went before the Commission québécoise des libérations conditionnelles and requested day parole. 

Offender has no criminal record, 'prosocial lifestyle': parole board

According to the parole board's decision, Raymond was speeding just before crashing into the young woman and then sped up afterwards, going 132 km/h. He told police that he had taken his eyes off the road briefly to change the music on the touchscreen in his vehicle when he felt the impact but kept driving because he didn't see anyone.

Longueuil police arrested 32-year-old Jose Luis Raymond Friday in connection with a June 2022 hit-and-run. (Source: Longueuil police)

The parole board granted his request citing a low chance of reoffending based on a risk assessment and the psychological help he has sought while incarcerated.

"You showed little concern for the safety of others by driving in the manner observed that day. You also ignored your obligation to stop after hitting a person, when on the contrary, you accelerated. A person died as a result of your actions, which we can infer irreparable and dramatic consequences for those close to them," the parole board decision stated.

However, the board noted Raymond would not be a risk to society by being released for several reasons: "the isolated nature of your offense, the absence of a prior record, the prosocial lifestyle, but also your level of accountability and your awareness. You recognize your actions and their consequences for the victim and their loved ones," according to the decision.

Dell worked with her daughter, who was an auxiliary nurse on her path to getting licenced. The grieving mother said she was already upset by the two-year sentence he was given, and that getting out early is another let-down.

Her house is filled with photos of her daughter to keep her memory alive.

"It's difficult. I would say for two years I don't live anymore. I'm surviving," she said. 

She said the justice system needs to serve victims better.

"There was no consideration for us. The parents, friends, the family. Clarissa was part of us. We have to live with that and it's difficult," she said.

"To see someone kill your child and then do not even five months. It's inconceivable. Inconceivable for all the punishment we live for the rest of our lives. The justice system absolutely needs to change."

Raymond will be on probation for three years and will be banned from driving for another five years. 

With files from CTV Montreal's Laurence Brisson Dubreuil