Brossard murder case: Suspect suggests dead woman killed children

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A person acting as their own attorney in a jury trial at the Longueuil courthouse, where they are accused of murdering their wife and two sons in the family’s condominium, surprised everyone Monday afternoon by revealing their theory of the case while conducting a witness cross-examination. Monday.

Mohamad Al Ballouz, a 38-year-old who now identifies as a woman, revealed her hypothesis while questioning Maria Fiorello, an expert on DNA and bloodstain patterns who was called as a witness for the prosecution. While he spent most of the day answering questions from a prosecutor, Fiorello said traces of Al Ballouz’s blood were found in many parts of the family’s Brossard condominium after firefighters burst into their home while responding to an alarm .

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When it came time to question the witness, Al Ballouz first repeated the Crown’s theory of the case: that Al Ballouz killed her wife, Synthia Bussières, by stabbing her repeatedly and then killed their two sons, Zac, 2, and Eliam killed. 5, in a manner that left no signs of violence on the boys, and then set fire to the condominium.

Throughout the entire trial, Al Ballouz had to ask all her questions from a prisoner’s box in the courtroom. She reminded the jury that Fiorello’s qualities as an expert witness were not questioned by her. Al Ballouz then revealed “the defense’s theory” on the case.

“If I tell you that Synthia Bussières killed the two children and then tried to kill the suspect, can you give your expert opinion” on the order in which the bloodstains occurred? Al Ballouz asked.

The witness replied bluntly, “No.”

Traces of Mohamad Al Ballouz’s blood were found throughout the condominium where she allegedly murdered her wife and their two children two years ago.

Al Ballouz is charged with the first-degree murder of Bussières and the first-degree murder of their two sons. The victims were killed on the night of September 24, 2022.

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While testifying Monday morning, Fiorello, an expert on the crime with two decades of experience who has testified in nearly four dozen trials across Quebec, told the jury that traces of what turned out to be Al Ballouz’s blood had been found in several parts of the apartment on the 12th floor of the residential building on St-Laurent Blvd. in Brossard.

Traces of the suspect’s blood were found on the handle of the apartment’s front door, in the main hallway, on part of the apartment’s balcony, a beer bottle, a set of car keys, on a toilet seat, in the shower, the walls of the children’s bedroom, on the button to start a washing machine, on the handle of a mop and on a box of white kitchen garbage bags.

“The mop was still wet, so it appears it was used to clean up blood,” Fiorello said, later adding that blood stains in the bathroom sink and shower indicated someone was washing away blood.

In some of the stains, Fiorello discovered that Bussières’ blood was mixed with Al Ballouz’s.

Bussières was stabbed 23 times, but no signs of violence were found on the bodies of the two boys. Firefighters discovered the bodies after an alarm went off. When they entered, they found Al Ballouz lying on a bed between her two sons. Bussières’ body was found in the bathroom.

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Fiorello also said bloodstains were found on the bases of two smoke detectors in the apartment. The actual smoke detectors had been removed and were found along with two others in a bedroom, at the foot of a bed, among several other items that had been set on fire.

Traces of Bussières’ blood were also found at the same locations as Al Ballouz’s, Fiorello told the jury.

The next witness to testify was Yann Pazé, a pathologist who performed autopsies on all three bodies.

He said there were no signs of violence on the bodies of the two boys and he could not determine the cause of death.

Pazé also said that there were no more burns on the bodies of Al Ballouz’s sons and that it appeared they died before the condom fire was set.

“There are certain forms of violent death that leave no trace at autopsy,” Pazé said, adding that he could only offer theories to try to explain how the boys were killed.

He noted that death by drowning would be one theory. Witnesses who testified at various parts of the trial said water was found throughout the condominium when the bodies were discovered. Also, one of Al Ballouz’s neighbors said she could see water pouring from the balcony of the family’s condominium after she left the building due to the fire alarm.

Pazé said that in addition to the 23 stab wounds on Bussières’ body, he also found superficial burns on the victim.

‘They weren’t serious. They were superficial,” Pazé said of the burns, adding that they were not the cause of the woman’s death.

“It is reasonable to conclude that Ms Bussières was dead when the fire started,” the pathologist said, explaining that no smoke was found in her lungs.

What did cause the woman’s death, Pazé concluded, were the stab wounds that damaged the blood vessels in her neck. He also said that based on a comparison of the stiffness of the bodies, it was “logical to conclude” that Bussières was killed before her sons were.

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