MONTREAL - A cop killer says a fight with his landlord about electricity turned him into the "living dead," prompting him to gun down a female police officer through his apartment door.
Francois Pepin, 42, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing Laval police Const. Valerie Gignac more than two years ago. A surprise deal with the Crown saw him sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years.
In return, Pepin admitted the lesser charge of second-degree murder, avoiding a first-degree murder trial that was to begin in two weeks.
Pepin apologized to Gignac's family before Quebec Superior Court Justice Sophie Bourque delivered the sentence.
"This never should have happened," he told the court. "I don't know how to explain this to you, I was like the living dead."
Gignac, 25, died Dec. 14, 2005, while responding to a routine call about a man making noise at an apartment building in Laval, north of Montreal.
Pepin claims his landlord threatened to turn off his electricity that day.
"I don't know what it did to my head but I started to cry," he said. "I completely lost any concept of time. I wasn't thinking when I shot, I was in the clouds."
The murder of a police officer usually brings a first-degree murder charge, with parole eligibility set for 25 years after a conviction.
But Pepin has a long history of mental problems and his lawyer read a slew of psychiatric and psychological reports into the court record.
Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier also acknowledged Pepin's health issues.
He noted one disturbing element in the case was Pepin's possession of high-powered rifles, despite a court order he not own weapons.
Pepin was under the order because of previous charges of harassment and uttering death threats against another police officer.
His psychological issues have done little to dampen the pain felt by Gignac's family.
"You haunt my life every day Mr. Pepin," her husband, Sebastien Boulay, said in a statement read by Bouthillier.
Boulay worked alongside Gignac as a Laval police officer. He said they built a home together, shared the same friends and planned on having children.
"December 14, just before noon, Mr. Pepin put an end to all our projects and dreams," his statement read.
"The house where we lived quickly lost all life. I lived there, but I lived alone."
An impact statement drafted by Gignac's brothers and sister called her "the baby of the family, our ray of sunshine."
Gignac's parents, Denise Latouche and Jean-Guy Gignac, implored the judge to hand down the toughest sentence possible for Pepin.
"We miss Valerie a lot and hardly a day goes by without saying her name," they said.
Defence lawyer Robert La Haye said the plea bargain allowed the court to take into account Pepin's rocky mental state.
His client tried to commit suicide several months ago, but Pepin's condition has improved since then.
"He is unstable, but has been in good spirits since this has been in the works," La Haye said. "He was relieved to finally be able to express his regrets to the family."
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Article online since May 7th 2008, 0:00
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