Coroner rules on murder-suicide case

Some may remember a 2019 incident in which a man in Tétreaultville killed his kids then himself. The coroner’s report is in, saying among other things that Jonathan Pomares should not have been released from hospital after going there for suicidal thoughts, and that in general, there should be better communication among the professionals concerned in cases like this.

Two other unrelated stories to do with mental health are in Wednesday’s news. The trial has begun in Quebec City of the man accused of attacking people with a sword on Halloween in 2020. Carl Girouard, whose mental state had been under examination for years before his rampage, is trying to establish he’s not guilty because of mental illness – but it isn’t as if nobody knew he was on the edge.

Then I hit up the La Presse tab, and the top story is about mental distress among police.