Randy Tshilumba's second murder trial begins for the killing of a Montreal grocery store clerk

On the first day of Randy Tshilumba's second murder trial, prosecutors said they would give the jury access to the defendant's “most intimate thoughts”.

In April 2016, 20-year-old Clémence Beaulieu-Patry was killed in the Maxi grocery store where she worked in Montreal's Saint-Michel district.

Tshilumba pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, but both the prosecution and defense agreed that he stabbed Beaulieu-Patry to death.

In his opening statement, the prosecutor said Tshilumba had watched news reports about the killing in the days following the killing.

The prosecution also said it would present records of the defendant's cell phone. One of his notes is said to have read: “Make up a cogent story for the police.”

Eyewitnesses are expected at the trial, including Maxi customers and employees.

Myriam Ben Saïd was the first witness. The 27-year-old said she and Beaulieu-Patry had been best friends for eight years and that she had met the accused in high school but did not know him well. Ben Saïd said she and the victim knew Tshilumba's friends and sometimes spoke to them.

In his first trial in 2017, Tshilumba was found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole until 25 years have passed. But in November 2022, the Quebec Court of Appeal ordered a second trial.