Ontario pathologist contradicts 2012 testimony at ex-judge Jacques Delisle's bail hearing
Defence team's expert says bullet that killed Nicole Rainville entered at 90-degree angle
A forensic pathologist called to testify at the bail hearing for Jacques Delisle — the only judge in Canada to have gone to prison for first-degree murder — says the bullet that killed Delisle's wife entered the left side of her skull at a 90-degree angle, testimony that differs radically from the evidence at Delisle's original trial.
The retired judge was convicted in 2012 of first-degree murder for the 2009 shooting death of Nicole Rainville and received an automatic life sentence.
Delisle was back in court in Quebec City today for the first day of what legal experts call a "very rare" hearing, seeking bail as he awaits the outcome of a ministerial review of his case.
Dr. Michael Shkrum of London, Ont., the main defence witness, explained to Quebec Superior Court Justice Benoit Moulin that his conclusions differ from those of pathologist Dr. André Bourgault, who conducted Rainville's autopsy.
Testifying for the Crown in 2012, Bourgault said the shot that killed Rainville was fired at an angle of 30 degrees, which would be consistent with someone standing above the disabled woman, holding a gun to the front of her head.
Flawed autopsy report
"The bullet went straight across, from the left to the right side of the skull," Shkrum testified Tuesday.
"The X-rays show evidence of an internal ricochet."
Shkrum, the director of the Southwestern Ontario Regional Forensic Pathology Unit, is an expert in close-range firearms wounds.
He told the court he was first made aware of Rainville's shooting death in early 2015 by a producer for the CBC investigative program the fifth estate looking into Delisle's claim that he was wrongfully convicted of his wife's murder.
Shkrum has since prepared a written report on his ballistic evidence for the federal Justice Department's Criminal Conviction Review Group, which is responsible for investigating Delisle's application for a ministerial review of his conviction.
Shkrum said he consulted with senior pathologists in three provinces before signing off on his report: the chief forensics pathologist for Ontario and the chief medical examiners for Manitoba and Nova Scotia.
He pointed out several discrepancies in the autopsy performed at the time of Rainville's death.
He said no photos of the brain were taken and that the autopsy report didn't include any clear diagrams indicating the path of the bullet.
Son, friend vouch for retired judge
The retired judge was transported from La Macaza, the medium-security penitentiary northwest of Montreal where he is being held, to attend the hearing.
Dressed in a white dress shirt and blue suit jacket, the 81-year-old arrived at the court room in shackles, which were quickly removed by a corrections officer.
He didn't hurt her. We believe in him.– Jean Delisle, son of Jacques Delisle
Jacques Delisle's son, Jean Delisle, agreed to guarantee his father's bail and conditions if he is released, pending a ministerial review of his case.
"If I had one-sixteenth of a doubt, I wouldn't be here. We've supported him from the beginning and will until the end," he told the court, after touching his father's hand through the glass of the prisoner's box.
"He didn't hurt her. We believe in him."
Jacques Delisle's former colleague Pierre Cimon also vouched for his friend.
Cimon worked in the same lawyers' cabinet as Delisle in the 1970s and '80s. He said he didn't hesitate to guarantee bail when Delisle's lawyers approached him.
The retired judge hopes to return to live in his condo in the Quebec City suburb of Sillery while he awaits Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould's decision on his application to reopen his case.
'Very rare' hearing
Delisle has already exhausted all legal avenues.
However, in Canada, convicted prisoners who have lost all appeals are allowed to make a direct appeal to the federal justice minister.
That application for ministerial review, submitted 19 months ago, has advanced to the investigation stage — the second of four stages undertaken by the Justice Department's Criminal Conviction Review Group.
If the review is successful, Delisle's case could be sent back to the Quebec Court of Appeal or a new trial could be set.
The bail hearing now underway is "very rare," said Quebec City criminal lawyer Alain Dumas, who told CBC's French-language service, Radio-Canada, that in 40 years of practice, he'd never seen anything like it.
"I think that the new evidence to be produced in this file will weigh very heavily in the judge's ruling," Dumas said, adding that "it will have to be rather solid."
Wife's death a suicide, ex-judge contends
Since his conviction in 2012, the former judge has continued to insist on his innocence.
In the joint investigation by the fifth estate and Enquête last year, three independent forensic experts reviewed the evidence in Delisle's case and concluded it pointed to suicide, not murder — corroborating Delisle's confession that, while he did not murder his wife, he did supply her with the gun that she used to kill herself.
The Crown, which is opposing Delisle's release, plans to call back as a witness Dr. André Bourgault, the same pathologist who testified at the 2012 trial.
With files from Radio-Canada's Yannick Bergeron, Stéphanie Tremblay