The case of Fabio Puglisi, the 44-year-old man charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder with assault with a weapon and aggravated assault in Vaudreuil-Dorion last February, was back in court on Thursday, September 5. Not surprisingly, his lawyer, Alexandre Dubé, asked Quebec Court Judge Claude Provost to issue an order establishing, or not, his client's criminal responsibility at the time of the events. 

Fabio Puglisi made a brief appearance via the videoconferencing system installed at the Institut de psychiatre Philippe-Pinel, where the accused is being held for the duration of the proceedings. 

“We have serious reason to believe that Mr. Puglisi was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the commission of the acts, and we would like you to issue an order that will enable us to rule on his state of mind at that time. As a result, he will undergo the assessment of his criminal and penal responsibility on site, since he is residing there until the end of the legal proceedings. He could return to court in 30 days to decide what to do next, once we have the assessment report in hand. My client agrees with this procedure,” Me. Dubé to the magistrate before Mr. Puglisi nodded in agreement. 

For her part, Crown prosecutor Lili Prévost-Gravel pointed out that the Crown had a large volume of documents to forward to the Institut de psychiatre Philippe-Pinel as part of this order. 

“We have drawn up a joint list of documents to be forwarded to them for this evaluation,” he added.Earlier this year, Mr. Puglisi was found fit to stand trial. At this health institution, he was medicated and made capable of understanding the charges against him, according to a report filed a few weeks ago by psychiatrist France Proulx.

Shortly before the February 15 tragedy, Fabio Puglisi had appeared in another case, this time for assault. 

The case will return to court on Friday, October 4, when the accused will be present via videoconference.  

To read also:

-  Murder in Vaudreuil-Dorion: Fabio Puglisi deemed fit to stand trial

- Fabio Puglisi deemed unfit to stand trial for the time being

- Vaudreuil-Dorion tragedy: Fabio Puglisi charged with second-degree murder