(Montreal) A coroner asks the Quebec government to improve services for victims of domestic violence, in her report on a murder case involving a man who strangled his wife and two sons in December 2019 in Montreal.
Coroner Andrée Kronström concludes in her report that the relationship between Dahia Khellaf and Nabil Yssaad had been marked by an escalation of violence since their “arranged marriage” in 2012.
“By entering into the intimacy of the couple, I understood that, from the moment of marriage, violence set in and increased,” writes Ms. Kronström.
The coroner looked into the murders of Ms. Khellaf, aged 42, and her two sons, Adam, 4, and Aksil, 2, at their home in the Pointe-aux-Trembles neighborhood on December 9 2019.
She also examined the suicide the next day of Nabil Yssaad, who strangled his family before going to Joliette hospital, where he threw himself out of a sixth floor window.
The couple had separated and Ms. Khellaf was divorcing. Five days before the murders, prosecutors dropped four charges against Mr. Yssaad – including assault and threatening his wife – when he agreed to sign a peace bond. Mr. Yssaad undertook in particular to no longer contact Ms. Khellaf or be less than 100 meters from her home.
Coroner Kronström says elements of the family’s history may be echoed in reports from domestic violence experts who testified at hearings last fall.
His report reveals that Mr. Yssaad began insulting and humiliating his wife shortly after she arrived in Canada from Algeria in 2014. The couple had two children, born in 2015 and 2017.
Ms. Khellaf first sought professional help from the Employee Assistance Program for her marital problems in 2016, and then again in 2018, after an increase in physical violence. For example, during one incident, Mr. Yssaad pins his wife’s face to the ground and mentions that he is going to kill her.
Ms. Khellaf filed a police complaint in 2018 alleging two separate allegations of assault and threats. She clarifies to prosecutors from the start that her main objective is for her partner to be evaluated in psychiatry since she suspects that he suffers from schizophrenia.
Mr. Yssaad did undergo a psychological evaluation, which revealed “no active mental illness, no suicidal danger” or “extreme violence,” the coroner’s report reads. He is then released on condition in particular that he is not in the presence of Ms. Khellaf.
A deputy chief prosecutor told the hearings that a peace bond was used in December 2019 because Ms. Khellaf refused to testify, leaving the Crown without its key witness.
The coroner says that despite the many improvements made to the services available since 2019, more support, coordination and awareness should be offered on domestic violence, particularly with regard to murder followed by suicide within the same family.
The coroner recommends in particular to the Ministry of Justice to complete the establishment, planned for 2026, of a court specializing in sexual violence and domestic violence in Montreal.
She also recommends “taking the necessary actions” to raise awareness of the violent spouse assessment service at the stage of provisional release, and to increase the education of new immigrants and young people on domestic violence and coercive control.
The coroner concluded that Ms Khellaf had not been informed about domestic violence and coercive control, and that her husband’s risk of violence had not been properly assessed. Citing a committee of experts that produced a report in 2019 on the factors leading to domestic violence, she points out that it can be difficult for victims like Ms Khellaf to sever ties with their abuser, especially when children are involved .
“Even though victims are the focus, the committee does not want to ignore the perpetrators of violence. In order to sustainably stem domestic violence, we must develop a range of quality services for attackers in a preventive manner,” writes the coroner.
An expert cited in the coroner’s report said domestic homicides are particularly difficult to prevent because victims are often ashamed to talk about the attacks they experience. Psychologist Suzanne Léveillée pointed out that Mr. Yssaad showed signs of a narcissistic personality, one of the warning signs in domestic homicides.
She felt that killing his estranged wife and children was his way of exerting “ultimate control” over his family, according to the report.
“By placing the family in the same bed after the murders, he meant that they would be reunited forever and that this was his final decision and takeover,” the coroner quotes. “There is no doubt, according to the expert, that he had planned his action. »
