After 18 years behind bars, a Quebec woman convicted of beating her then-boyfriend’s four-year-old son to death in 2008 is appealing to a jury for a chance at early parole, saying she acknowledges and regrets what she did.
Stéphanie Meunier is serving a life sentence after she was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Jérémy Bastien-Perron in June 2011.
The circumstances of that crime were “horrible” and “unimaginable,” Judge Mario Longpré had said earlier this year, before authorizing her to plead her case for early release before a jury.
Meunier had left bite marks and multiple lesions on Jérémy’s body, some of which were several weeks old, using different blunt objects, according to his autopsy report. He died on Dec. 6, 2008, from a blow to the head.
On Friday, Meunier told a Montreal courtroom that while in prison, she’s been able to take a hard look at her life and her choices, with the help of therapy and rehabilitation programs, and recognize the harm she inflicted on Jérémy and his family.
“I understand today what led me to this. I didn’t have an easy life, but it wasn’t a reason,” she testified in French. “I’m the one who decided to do what I did.”
The prosecution is opposing her request, highlighting the victim’s age and the nature of the crime.
Life marked by drug use, ‘poor choices’
In 2011, Meunier was given an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole until 2033.
She’s leaning on the “faint hope” clause in the Criminal Code — repealed in 2011 — which allows convicted murderers to apply for earlier parole after serving 15 years in prison. Offences committed before December 2011, like hers, were not affected by the repeal.
“Today, I’m very aware that the sentence I got, the fact I’m in prison, I believe I deserve it,” Meunier said. “But one thing I know is that I want to continue to work on myself to be able to make better decisions in life.”
In court, she detailed her life up until her incarceration as one marked by extensive drug use, abusive relationships, “poor choices” and a turbulent childhood.
A mother of four herself, she says she observed Jérémy’s father, Francis Bastien, hit him and felt entitled to do the same, taking out her anger on the boy.
“I’m not able to say word for word, how many strikes, how many times I did it, or where I hit him. I can just say that when I saw black, I would hit,” she said.
At the time, Bastien had left Jérémy under Meunier’s care while he participated in a clinical trial.
He later pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing his son’s death, to assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon, and was sentenced to 50 months in prison in 2015.
Inside the Montreal courthouse, seen here in a photo taken in January 2024. Meunier will return to court Monday morning to be cross-examined. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada)
During his legal process, Bastien testified that Meunier was the one who would urge him to physically abuse Jérémy.
On Friday, she said she realized she was immature when she went into prison and has since learned to process her emotions and is surrounding herself with better people.
She spoke of the different workshops she’s attended, some of which were at a women’s centre outside the prison, her transfer from a medium to a low-security status, her efforts to go back to school, and reconnecting with her children.
She said she’s learned to recognize her triggers and finds relief in knowing she’ll be accompanied by a correctional liaison officer for the rest of her life.
“At any moment, I can lift my hand and ask for help,” she said. “I’m going to work on myself my whole life.”
Jury to weigh on early parole eligibility, not guilt
Meunier testified Friday in front of 12 jurors. Her defence lawyer, Marie-Claude Lacroix, is also presenting 16 other witnesses to talk about Meunier’s participation in rehabilitation programs, among other things.
Justice Hélène Di Salvo told the jury this is an unusual procedure because they will have to determine if Meunier is eligible for early parole — not whether or not she’s guilty of the crime.
Di Salvo also said the evidence presented would be hard to watch.
At first, Meunier denied causing Jérémy’s death and even appealed her sentence in 2014, but it was rejected. She says it took her a long time before she could admit to herself what she did.
She says she’s learned to stop seeing herself only as a victim of the violence she endured and to take responsibility for her actions and choices.
Earlier this year, Judge Longpré said Meunier was “fully invested” in her rehabilitation and that “several elements are in her favour,” adding that she deserved to be heard out by a jury.
If the jury approves Meunier’s request, it will move up to the parole board, which will make the final decision.
Meunier will return to court Monday morning to be cross-examined.
