Murder trial of man accused of shooting, killing OPP officer begins

The murder trial of Alain Bellefeuille opened Wednesday with dramatically different accounts of what happened the night nearly two years ago that Sgt. Eric Mueller was shot and killed while responding to a 911 call.

Jurors heard that on May 11, 2023, Ontario Provincial Police arrived at a rural home in Bourget, east of Ottawa, where Bellefeuille lived alone.

They'd been called there by a concerned neighbour who reported hearing loud music and — maybe — a gunshot.

Crown prosecutors argued Bellefeuille waited in silence as officers made a wellness check at his home, walking around the property and shouting his name in an attempt to coax a response out of him.

As police entered his home, Bellefeuille opened fire. Over the next few minutes, the Crown said, he fired 19 bullets from a semi-automatic rifle.

There will be no dispute during the six-week trial that Bellefeuille fired the shots that killed Mueller and injured two other officers.  

Rather, one of the central questions for jurors to contemplate will be what Bellefeuille, now 41, was thinking and intending at the time.

Expected to testify

Bellefeuille's lawyers say he will testify during the trial and tell the court he was woken up by his dogs, grabbed a legal firearm and fired at what he believed were intruders.

Police footage — including the moments before, during and after the shootings —  is expected to be entered as evidence. Photo boards of the property where they happened are also being shown in court. 

Bellefeuille won't be the only witness to testify. The jury is also set to hear from the neighbour who called 911 and officers who were on the scene that night — including one who was shot but survived.

Const. Marc Lauzon, now 45, said from the witness box Wednesday that he hasn't been able to return to the job since being wounded in the shooting. 

During French-language testimony that's expected to continue on Thursday, Lauzon began to describe the events of that night.

Lauzon told court that he spoke with the neighbour who called 911 before driving over to Bellefeuille's property with his police lights on. 

OPP-led investigation

In custody for two years since his arrest, Bellefeuille appeared in the prisoner's box wearing a suit. Police officers and members of Mueller's family filled a few rows of benches in the public gallery. 

Twelve jurors are responsible for deciding if Bellefeuille is guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. 

OPP officers from outside the region led the investigation into Bellefeuille since it was OPP officers who were shot that night. 

An east region judge is overseeing the trial at the small courthouse in L'Orignal, further east from Ottawa near Hawkesbury, and security is tight getting in and out.

The trial is being held in both English and French at Bellefeuille's request.