KVEBEK –
The man accused of killing two people with a sword in Quebec City on the night of Halloween 2020, testified on Wednesday that after the second murder he began to doubt what he called his “mission”.
Carl Giroud, 26, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Francois Duchamp, 56, and Susanne Clermont, 61, on October 31, 2020, and five counts of attempted murder.
He admits to killing Duchamp and Clermont and injuring five others, but his lawyer will say he was not prosecuted at the time because he suffered from a mental disorder.
Giroud testified that his goal was to create chaos, change the world, and encourage like-minded people – whom he called his “alter ego” – to pursue their goal. He said that until he was 18, he believed he had a “top secret” mission to kill and that his life would be sacrificed in the end.
However, after Clermont’s assassination, he said he began to doubt his actions.
“I thought I would have a sense of accomplishment, but it wasn’t,” Giroud told the jury. “I decided that there should be no more death, mine or any other.
Giroud said his original plan was to attack people at the Château Frontenac in the historic district of the provincial capital. Opening the locked door, he left shortly before returning and attacking people on the streets near the hotel. He was armed with a 76.9-centimeter Japanese-style katana sword and wore black clothing and a short-sleeved kimono.
Giroud told the court that he was scared when he arrived in Quebec City and did not want to continue with his plan, but felt he had no choice. He described the killings as an obligation.
“I went against my will, I didn’t want to, but I had to,” said Giroud. “I saw many people and attacked them with my sword to carry out my mission.”
Chained and handcuffed in the witness box, he told the court that the attack was supposed to take place on Halloween because there would be a full moon. He said he chose Old Quebec because its historic buildings and statues remind him of the medieval video games he adores.
Giroud said part of his plan included killing his family and setting fire to their home before heading to Quebec City, which led police to find gas cans in his car. He did not go through the ritual. “I told myself it wasn’t necessary,” he said.
He had previously told the court that he had been obsessed with video games in his teens – especially those involving swords and knives – and had begun to mix reality and video games. He said he remembered saying “we should live like in video games”.
Answering questions from his lawyer Pierre Gagnon, Giroud described himself as two different people – one who went to work and lived in the real world, and the other who was mission-focused.
Gagnon asked which Giroud was speaking to the jury.
“There is a Carl Giroud who is with you today who likes to make people laugh and help others,” said Giroud. “This is different from Carl Giroud of the mission, who feels obliged to isolate himself. But this is in the past. Carl Giroud is no longer on the mission.”
The obsession with his plan made him leave work often when he sensed that his colleagues were trying to get to know him. He said he avoids close relationships to stay focused on his goal. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he quit his job and played video games.
Giroud’s mother, Monique Dalphon, told the court earlier that her son had a long history of problems. She said he was quoted for inappropriate behavior in primary school, adding that a child psychologist had intervened and Giroud had been treated for some time.
She told the court that her son received a credit card when he turned 18 and spent his money collecting katana swords and samurai clothing – his only interests, she said, apart from video games. Giroud, she added, “has no real friends, girlfriend or social life.”
Dalfond told the court that she first heard about her son’s plan when police knocked on her door after the attacks.
The crown, which claims that Giroud announced back in 2014 his plan to kill people with a sword, will continue with cross-examination on Thursday.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 27, 2022.
“From Siddhartha Banerjee to Montreal.”
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