Nearly three decades after the disappearance of a young Montreal woman, a legal battle is unfolding as the man accused of her killing seeks to have the charge against him thrown out.
Legal Challenge in Decades-Old Case
Serge Audette, now 72 years old, is formally requesting a stay of proceedings on the manslaughter charge he faces for the alleged killing of his 23-year-old neighbour, Patricia Ferguson, in 1996. The request was presented before Quebec Court Judge Dennis Galiatsatos, who began hearing evidence related to the arrest and interrogation of Audette.
Through his defence lawyer, Kristina Markovic, Audette contends that his constitutional rights were violated following his arrest in connection with the cold case. The judge is scheduled to hear evidence over two weeks in a series of voir-dires—essentially a trial within a trial—ahead of the main trial, which is set to be heard by a judge alone in January.
A Disturbing Pattern of Violence Revealed
As part of the pre-trial hearings, the Crown called a witness to testify about a prior sexual assault committed by Audette. The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, provided chilling details of an assault that occurred on June 23, 1984.
She testified that Audette, then a co-worker, lured her into his car under the false pretence of collecting money for her boyfriend. He instead drove her to a motel, where he threatened her with a knife and sexually assaulted her over a period she described as at least 12 hours.
"He consumed a lot of cocaine. I could hear him sniffing," the woman stated matter-of-factly. After the assault, Audette drove her around while talking about suicide and his failed relationship, all while brandishing the knife. She recounted fearing for her life when he stopped in an isolated area. "I thought he was going to stab me and leave me there," she told the court.
Audette was subsequently convicted for this assault, as well as for sexually assaulting two other women in 1987 and 1998. In all three cases, his method was strikingly similar: he took the victims to a motel room, threatened them with a knife, and forced them to perform sexual acts.
A Timeline of Violence and a Long-Delayed Arrest
The timeline of Audette's crimes places the alleged homicide of Patricia Ferguson between his second and third known sexual assaults. Ferguson resided in the same Pointe-aux-Trembles apartment building as Audette and disappeared on June 6, 1996.
At the time of Ferguson's disappearance, Audette was already a convicted sex offender. His 1987 conviction was for kidnapping a crossing guard and holding her in a motel room for 15 hours while on probation for the earlier offence. In 1999, his pattern of violent behaviour led to him being designated a dangerous offender, resulting in an indefinite sentence.
It was not until June 2023 that Audette was finally arrested and charged in connection with Ferguson's death. The current legal proceedings will determine whether the case against him will proceed to trial or be stayed based on the defence's arguments regarding the integrity of the investigation and the protection of his legal rights.
