A young woman whose mother was murdered in her sleep wants to warn those caring for her children with mental health problems that they are at real risk if they don’t ask for help.
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“My mother didn’t open up much, she kept everything to herself. When I emptied the house, I found psychiatric reports and learned a lot. Since 2017, my brother said that my mother was the problem and that he would kill her. If we had known, we would have insisted more,” says Mélissa Blais.
Violaine Gagnon’s kindness will have been her undoing. The Baie-Saint-Paul resident was hosting her son Jean-Philippe Blais when he knocked her unconscious with a cast-iron skillet on August 3, 2019.
Officials discovered the woman in a pool of blood hours later after a colleague expressed concern that she was missing.
“One of our friends from Vancouver sent us the TVA link on Facebook and said, ‘I hope that’s not what I think it is,'” says Janick Turcotte, spouse of Mélissa Blais.
There was no question for the couple that Jean-Philippe was behind it, even if he had not yet been arrested. Police arrested him in Quebec 24 hours later.
Photo archive, Catherine Bouchard
Jean-Philippe during his arrest in Quebec in August 2019.
Mélissa Blais knew her brother was ill and delusional. “We told him to seek advice, but he didn’t want to. For him, what was in his head was true,” she said.
Consumed by drugs
The young woman claims that Jean-Philippe’s problems coincide with his drug use. “He went west to train and he took on all kinds of stuff. When he came back [en 2016]”Because his mother cut him off, he was eaten away,” continues Janick Turcotte.
Then he started to get disorganized. Jean-Philippe went crazy in the car, walked around with a fishing knife and thought his relatives would poison him, his sister reports.
After each of his three psychiatric hospitalizations, his mother took him back under her wing, even though he threatened to cut her throat. “Sometimes parents don’t see the risk. It’s difficult, but they have to hold a barrier,” believes Mélissa Blais.
She and her husband called the police for help many times. “We didn’t do it lightly,” says Janick Turcotte. My brother-in-law was at home in psychosis, but I managed to take his knife away from him. He’s sick, but he’s smart. He kept his ears floppy when the police arrived so they wouldn’t go with him. [lui].”
“We just wanted him treated and we felt like we were getting in the way,” adds Mr Turcotte.
High risk suspect
After the murder, the Crown attempted to have Jean-Philippe Blais declared a high-risk defendant, but Judge Raymond W. Pronovost declined. This would have limited the killer’s excursions until another judge rules otherwise.
“If he had [l’étiquette d’accusé à haut risque], we would at least have had the impression that justice had its say. There we could meet him at the Galeries de la Capitale and they will tell me that they ensure the safety of the public,” protests Janick Turcotte.
WHAT THE JUDGE SAID
“In terms of dangerousness, the defendant no longer considers himself dangerous since he’s been on his medication, which makes him zen.”
“As from Dr. [Sébastien] Proulx in his testimony that if there is no risk statement, it may well be that the defendant can be discharged from the hospital alone in the coming weeks. It would be risky as the defendant has a significant background.”
“It is true that the acts committed by the defendants are serious and unspeakably cruel. However, given his background, it cannot be said that he is among the most dangerous defendants for which this article has been added.
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