Two men have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of a man who succumbed to his injuries hours after showing up at a Montreal hospital with stab wounds during the Thanksgiving long weekend.
The victim, 26-year-old Charles Robitaille, was brought to a downtown hospital just before 3 a.m. on Monday and died a short while later. Based on information provided by the people who brought Robitaille to the hospital, the Montreal police major crimes division opened their investigation at the intersection of Berri and Ontario Sts. A large area surrounding the intersection was closed off to traffic for hours on Monday while the police investigated.
Within hours, police made a first arrest in the case Monday afternoon and a second suspect was apprehended a short while later.
The men made a brief appearance before a Quebec Court judge at the Montreal courthouse on Tuesday afternoon. Both of the 19-year-old men — Yasar Aykin, of Montreal, and Mikael Eteinne, a resident of the St-Léonard borough, were charged with first-degree murder, an indication the Montreal police suspect the slaying was planned and deliberate. The charge comes with an automatic life sentence with parole eligibility set at 25 years upon conviction. According to Montreal police spokesperson Constable Jean-Pierre Brabant, the murder suspects will be detained until their next court date.
“What we can say is that with all the information gathered, including (footage) from (security) cameras that was viewed by investigators and the information from witnesses, we were able to identify suspects and locate them,” Brabant said.
The spokesperson was unable to say whether Robitaille knew the men who allegedly stabbed him. He said the death involved an altercation, but was unable to say what might have provoked it.
At the time of his arrest, Aykin was facing a charge for simple drug possession, also at the Montreal courthouse. He was scheduled to have a court date on the drug possession charge on Tuesday.
