Emotional statements follow Alain Bellefeuille’s guilty verdict for murder of police | CBC News

It took the jury a little more than a day to reach their verdict in the trial of Alain Bellefeuille — guilty as charged for the first-degree murder of Sgt. Eric Mueller and the attempted murder of two other officers who were entering Bellefeuille’s home in the early morning hours of May 11, 2023.

The 41-year-old received two life sentences Saturday, to be served concurrently. He will have no chance for parole for 25 years — automatic for first-degree murder — and no chance of parole for 20 years for the attempted murders, also concurrently.

Bellefeuille remained calm as the verdict was read, while his relatives in the courtroom gallery cried. He had admitted to killing Mueller and injuring constables Mark Lauzon and François Gamache-Asselin, but had maintained his innocence. He testified that he thought he was the victim of a home invasion that morning and didn’t know he was firing at police.

The officers had been dispatched to his rented rural house in Bourget, Ont., east of Ottawa, after a neighbour called 911 and reported hearing loud noises including shouting and gunfire, followed by silence.

Crucial evidence in the case — for the Crown and the defence — came from the body-worn cameras of Mueller, Gamache-Asselin and other officers who arrived after the shots were fired, including then Const. Ionut “John” Mihuta, who arrested Bellefeuille. At the time, body-worn cameras were quite new for OPP.

That footage can be seen in the following stories:

Heart-rending statements read in court

Marie-France Ethier — Mueller’s widow and mother of their two young children — told court Saturday in French that while Mueller was a dedicated officer, it was his family life that came first for him, and that he’d wanted to be a father more than anything else.

He did all the cooking, took care of the house, spent dozens of hours at his daughter’s bedside when she was in hospital, and understood “that his time and presence mattered to those he loved so much,” she read from her victim impact statement.

“The tragedy of losing a parent at such a young age, under any circumstances, has serious and harmful consequences for a child. But losing Eric under these violent and cruel circumstances, where the events will live forever in the media and in collective memory, will have lasting effects on my children and me,” Ethier told court in French.

“I hope this court can recognize the depth of our grief and loss, as well as the impact Eric’s murder has had on our lives. No sentence can bring back our Eric or ease our pain, but your decision will help give us a sense of closure and reaffirm the value of the life Eric led, as well as the ultimate sacrifice he made.”

Mueller’s mother, Ginette Mueller, told court she woke up at 2 a.m. the morning of the shooting “with a heaviness in my heart and a feeling of deep worry that I didn’t understand,” only for police to show up a few hours later and tell her her son had died.

“He had achieved his dream of having a family … two children, a lovely wife, and even though his sister Kathy lived far away, he loved laughing and sharing moments with her, sometimes at my expense. My daughter and I continue to suffer daily from this terrible, almost unreal nightmare from which we can never recover,” she read in French from her victim impact statement.

“Later, we will be able to tell the children that their dad was a hero to all of us, and we were and are so passionate about this extraordinary man who was their father, my son.”

Kathy Mueller wrote in English that when their father died in 1999, her brother was just 18.

“Despite his own grief, he stepped up. He protected our mother and me without hesitation. That’s who Eric was: effortlessly devoted, always dependable, always leading with quiet strength,” she told court, reading from her statement.

“So it came as no surprise when he became a police officer. Eric was a natural. Fair. Compassionate. Grounded. He made everyone around him feel safe.”

‘Life-changing impact’

After Saturday’s proceedings, OPP spokesman Bill Dickson read a joint statement from OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique, OPP union president John Cerasuolo and Mueller’s family, saying the verdict “reinforces our focus on what Sgt. Mueller stood for — an unwavering commitment to the community, to his family and to the safety and protection of others.”

The verdict also took into account the “life-changing impact” felt by Lauzon and Gamache-Asselin, who “exhibited the highest standard of bravery in the face of life-threatening danger,” Dickson added.

“For nearly nine weeks, emotional testimonies and the public release of the body-worn camera video have significantly intensified the emotional impact that we have all been feeling since that heartbreaking morning of May 11, 2023. It has been especially hard for Sgt. Eric Muellers’ family, the two wounded officers and their families, our OPP members, their loved ones, and for the entire community of Prescott-Russell,” he said.

‘Completely heartbroken,’ defence says

Bellefeuille’s defence lawyer, meanwhile, wrote in a statement that Bellefeuille’s supporters are devastated.

“On behalf of Alain, his family, and friends, and all of us who knew him to be utterly incapable of the crimes that were ascribed to him, we are completely heartbroken with this result,” Russomanno wrote.

Bellefeuille has 30 days to decide whether he wants to appeal.

He had pleaded not guilty in March when his bilingual trial began in Superior Court in L’Orignal, Ont. — the oldest courthouse in Ontario. The Crown team consisted of Louise Tansey, François Dulude and Emma Loignon-Giroux, while Bellefeuille was represented by Russomanno and Biagio Del Greco.

For 27 days, Mueller’s family, dressed in black, and a large crowd of supporters and colleagues of the victims filled the wooden benches on the Crown’s side of the courtroom gallery. On Saturday, there were hugs and sighs of relief among them when the verdict was read.

Lauzon, who suffered life-altering injuries and has not returned to work, attended most days, and his frequent smiles and laughter during breaks stood out in a sea of sombre faces. Gamache-Asselin, who suffered a minor knee laceration and is back at work, occasionally attended.

The defence side of the room behind the prisoner’s box filled up at key moments, such as on the first day of Bellefeuille’s testimony earlier this month, but on most days the proceedings were attended by his sister, mother and aunt. Bellefeuille often showed his gratitude to them by whispering or miming “I love you” from the prisoner’s box.

Security was tight. Two cruisers brought Bellefeuille to the small courthouse every day, with a team of special constables accompanying him through the same few entrances and hallways used by the public, jury, judge and lawyers. Two officers guarded the door inside the courtroom, and tactical officers were stationed outside the courthouse.

Bellefeuille took the stand in his own defence. He testified he’d been asleep and was woken by his barking dog, flashing lights and banging outside his rented rural home. He said he immediately believed someone was trying to break in, and that he’d been afraid of such an attack ever since friends of his suffered a violent home invasion years earlier.

Russomanno had urged the jury to consider the events from Bellefeuille’s perspective, stressing that it all happened over the span of just four minutes — from the time police arrived to the time his client called 911 to report that he’d shot an officer.

In the Crown’s closing submissions, Tansey called Bellefeuille’s actions that night “devastating, calculated and precise.”

Bellefeuille fired four separate volleys from his high-powered SKS rifle, which was equipped with an illegally modified magazine that could hold 22 rounds instead of the five allowed.

He also removed Mueller’s body-worn camera, hid it in his pocket, and later threw it into his neighbour’s yard.

The Crown argued that wasn’t the behaviour of someone acting in self-defence, but rather of someone who had committed a “cold and calculated killing.”