Ugo Fredette charged in St-Jérôme court
Suspect is accused of second-degree murder in killing of partner Barbe
Ugo Fredette kept his head down and showed little emotion on Monday when he was formally charged with second-degree murder in the killing of his partner, Véronique Barbe.
Crown prosecutor Steve Baribeau said his office will examine all the evidence before deciding whether Fredette will face charges in the alleged kidnapping of his son and the killing of Yvon Lacasse.
“This isn’t a race. We are going to take the time to get a global portrait of all the evidence,” he said after the brief court appearance in St-Jérôme. “We want to do things properly.”
Fredette, 41, will return to court on Oct. 31.
Baribeau said that Fredette had undergone a medical evaluation and was found fit to appear in court. Fredette had been hospitalized in Ottawa following a suicide attempt while he was in the custody of Ontario Provincial Police, authorities said. He was sent back to Quebec over the weekend and remains in detention in St-Jérôme.
The judge instructed Fredette not to communicate with several members of Barbe’s and Lacasse’s families. “Our prosecutor asked the court to render an order to make sure that he has no right to communicate with people near the victim or people who could be a witness in this case,” said Jean-Pascal Boucher, a spokesperson with the Crown prosecutor’s office.
While in detention at the courthouse, Fredette was put in a special cell to keep him away from other inmates. He stared at the ground and didn’t look at anyone in the packed courtroom during his arraignment.
Fredette was the subject of a police manhunt Sept. 14 after Barbe was found dead at her home in StEustache. An Amber Alert was triggered when Barbe’s 6-year-old son was discovered to be missing.
Fredette was arrested Sept. 15 near Renfrew, Ont. He had been driving a Honda CRV that police suspect was stolen from its owner, 71-year-old Yvon Lacasse. The child was with Fredette and is now in protective custody.
Investigators found Lacasse’s body on Wednesday in Arundel, about 100 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
Lacasse, who lived in the Laurentian town of Gore, crossed paths with Fredette at a rest stop in Lachute, where Lacasse often went to read and chat with locals.
His friends suspect that he offered to help Fredette when he noticed Fredette’s truck was not working. His friends said he was a popular senior who participated in many community events in Gore.