John Vincent didn’t want to kill himself when he was involved in a fatal collision on Highway 50. Instead, he veered off course as he tried to grab his breathalyzer, which had fallen at his feet. At least that’s the hypothesis the defense presented to the jury Tuesday.
“Our thesis is that it was accidental, he did not intend to kill himself,” advocate Me Robert Bellefeuille at the Saint-Jerome court on Tuesday. After five weeks, the trial ends. Jurors are expected to deliberate in the coming days.
Jano Vincent, 37, of Saint-Polycarp, is charged with the second-degree murder of Robert Campion. On October 6, 2019, at approximately 12:30 p.m., the victim’s Ford F-150 pickup truck collided head-on with the victim’s recreational vehicle on Highway 50 near Grenville-sur-la-Rouge. Robert Campion died instantly and John Vincent was seriously injured.
Photo filed as evidence
Robert Campion
According to the Crown’s theory, Jano Vincent attempted suicide by instigating this face-to-face meeting. Then the life of the accused was lost. He knew his ex-partner had a new boyfriend. Also, over the years, the parents have been sued for huge sums in connection with the sale of the house.
In his defense, Jano Vincent denied trying to take his own life. On that day, on the contrary, his life was going “well”. He said he was going to “settle” the case with his parents, a new truck and a “nice apartment.”
“I had plans for the future. I didn’t want to kill myself on October 6, 2019. There were so many beautiful things coming,” she testified in late June.
I don’t remember hitting Jano Vincent. However, he presents a “hypothesis”. According to him, he may have “accidentally” deviated from his path due to a “distraction”. He thinks his breathalyzer may have gone off. He probably dropped it and then got distracted from trying to pick it up.
Although none of the evidence supports this hypothesis, Me Bellefeuille emphasized this. “He escaped [l’appareil]. That’s how he was able to quit. He used to blow while driving. The accident was accidental,” the defense attorney argued Tuesday morning.
Also, according to Me Bellefeuille said it was not “believable” that Jano Vincent wanted to kill himself that day because he was “anxious to see his daughter”.
According to the Crown, Jano Vincent attempted suicide in Grenville because his ex-partner’s new boyfriend was a firefighter who could intervene at the scene of the collision.
Photo filed with the court
On the left, we can see the recreational vehicle driven by victim Robert Campion. At right, a Ford F-150 driven by John Vincent.
During the trial, Jano described Vincent’s ex-wife as gaining the accused’s trust after he came out of coma. “He told me he wanted to take his own life at 50. He wanted to die. That he couldn’t take it anymore. He told me there,” Julie Leville testified last month.
A few months after the conflict, Jano Vincent attempted suicide by swallowing pills. He wrote a 15-page letter expressing his anger at his parents. “Now I’m crippled by you because I wanted to end my miserable life you made me live,” she wrote.
According to the accused, the letter does not have the significance that the king claims. If he wrote all this, it was only to “please” his ex-partner and “make her proud”.
“I wrote down the things she wanted. What she told me every day. I made sure I wrote it so she would be happy,” Jano Vincent told Crown attorney M during a close cross-examination.e Steve Baribeau, late June.
On Tuesday afternoon comes the turn of the crown jewel.
