Case Summary
André Tremblay, his friend Serge Fournier, and two other companions spent the night of July 2 – 3, 1982, socializing at bars along the Rue St.-Denis in Montreal.1 On the morning of July 3, the group went to an apartment to continue the party, which eventually broke up at around 10:00 a.m.2 Tremblay was the last of the group to leave, while Fournier remained at the apartment.3 Tremblay then went to a friend’s building, where a tenant observed him in the courtyard sometime in the late morning.4
At approximately 11:42 a.m., firefighters were summoned because smoke was emanating from the apartment where the group had gathered.5 Fournier was found dead on the mattress. His autopsy revealed that the cause of death was asphyxiation. Fournier had been unconscious at the time of death, and had sustained injuries to his face, head, and abdomen.6 According to expert chemical analysis, the bedding and mattress had been ignited by an unextinguished cigarette, although it was not clear whether this had been an accident or arson.7 Tremblay learned of Fournier’s death days later in the newspaper.8
Because he was apparently the last person to see Fournier alive, the police interviewed Tremblay on October 5, 1982.9 Fearing to attract further police interest, he admitted to spending the night in Fournier’s presence but denied going with him to the apartment.10
It appears that police made little investigative progress over the next several months. In January 1984, Tremblay was arrested on the charge of first degree murder. He was taken to Parthenais prison, where he awaited trial.11
Tremblay stood trial for Serge Fournier’s murder beginning February 13, 1984.12 The preponderance of the Crown’s evidence, which included testimony from the two other people at the apartment party, did not connect Tremblay with Fournier’s death.13 A tenant in the same building recalled hearing loud noises and banging from the suite – so intense that she took a mirror off the wall – sometime around 9:30 a.m., but had not heard anything to help identify the culprit.14
At the close of the second day of trial, the Crown announced a surprise witness: “jailhouse” informant Gilles Dégarie, who was incarcerated with Tremblay at Parthenais.15 The judge granted the Crown’s request for this witness to testify right away, despite defence counsel’s having asked for an adjournment.16 Dégarie testified that Tremblay had confided in him between January 25 and February 5, 1984. According to Dégarie, Tremblay had confessed to killing Fournier and told him he was confident that he would be acquitted, because Fournier after all could not testify against him.17
Tremblay took the stand in his own defence. He admitted that, contrary to his police statement, he had gone to the apartment party on the morning of July 3, 1982.18 He explained that he had lied to police about parts of the chronology because he had served time before, and from his past experience, did not wish to get mixed up in the matter.19 Tremblay maintained that he was innocent and categorically denied “confiding” in Dégarie.20
On February 22, 1984, the jury found Tremblay guilty on the charge of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years.21 Tremblay appealed his conviction to the Quebec Court of Appeal, but a two-to-one majority of the court dismissed his appeal in 1987.22 Because there was a dissenting judge, Tremblay had the right to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, but in 1990 this appeal was dismissed as well.23 In 1992, Tremblay made an unsuccessful application to the Minister of Justice for a review of his murder conviction.24
Tremblay later learned, however, that Dégarie made a statement back in 1988 that cast doubt on his trial testimony. Dégarie’s statement, dated November 23, 1988, explained that police had offered him a number of concessions – a cell at Parthenais (his preferred institution in Montreal), the protection of the authorities, and assistance in “getting out” – in exchange for his evidence at Tremblay’s trial.25 Initially, Dégarie claimed that he had not perjured himself regarding Tremblay’s alleged confession. He did admit to having lied about discussing his evidence with police, improperly, at a lunch venue where they took him out during a court break.26
In a subsequent sworn statement dated December 16, 1991, Dégarie recanted the rest of his testimony, admitting that Tremblay had made no confession. The whole of his evidence against Tremblay was false.27
On June 29, 1998, a jury granted Tremblay a reduction in the time before his parole eligibility. In his evidence before this jury, Tremblay claimed to have had an altercation with Fournier after the latter attacked him with a telephone, which resulted in Fournier lying unconscious on his mattress when Tremblay left the apartment.28 He said that he never intended to kill Fournier and did not light the fire.29 Given Dégarie’s recantation, it is worth observing that parole is rarely granted to those who maintain their innocence (see, for example, Romeo Phillion and Steven Kaminsky’s cases – also in the Registry). Tremblay was conditionally released in March 2004 after spending more than 20 years in prison.30
In July 2005, having learned that Dégarie recanted the testimony that had convicted Tremblay, Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler referred his case back to the Quebec Court of Appeal for reconsideration.31 On May 31, 2010, the Court quashed Tremblay’s murder conviction with the consent of the Crown. The court ordered a new trial, this time on a manslaughter charge.32 Tellingly, the Crown called no evidence at Tremblay’s second trial, and in July 2010, he was acquitted of manslaughter.33