The motive behind the death nearly two years ago of 27-year-old Conor Patrick O’Loughlin remains a mystery, but the intention to end his life was clear, a prosecutor told a jury on Wednesday at the start of the murder trial of two brothers.
Philippe Vallières-Roland, who will prosecute the case with Caroline Larouche, made the comments during his opening statement at the Montreal courthouse in the trial of Chad and Jayden Pinel. The prosecutor described the two brothers as “an inseparable duo.”
He said O’Loughlin was stabbed to death on the first floor of an apartment building at 3600 St-Antoine St. W. in the Sud-Ouest borough on May 18, 2024.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Catherine Perreault told the jury the trial is expected to last at least three weeks.
On Wednesday, both of the brothers entered not guilty pleas to the single counts of second-degree murder each face.
The key to the trial, Vallières-Roland said, will be the testimony of people who were present in the apartment building when O’Loughlin was killed. Included among the witnesses expected to testify are two women who were with Chad Pinel, now 22, and his younger brother Jayden, now 19, the night of May 17, 2024, before O’Loughlin was killed around 4:30 a.m. the following morning.
Vallières-Roland said that early that morning, something caused O’Loughlin to knock on the door of the apartment where the two women resided.
“Cordial” words were exchanged with the Pinel brothers and O’Loughlin returned to his apartment, the prosecutor said.
“Minutes later, something pushed the brothers to knock on the victim’s door to pursue the discussion,” Vallières-Roland said. “You will see (through video evidence) that (O’Loughlin) was calm and nothing indicated what was to come. It was only when the brothers went to his door that things went bad.”
The men argued, Jayden Pinel was punched in his left eye, the prosecutor said, and the brothers replied.
While O’Loughlin lay on the floor, the brothers tried to hit his dog with a bottle of alcohol.
Two friends of the victim, O’Loughlin’s partner and a friend visiting from British Columbia, are also expected to be called as witnesses.
“They will testify about events that have shaken their lives,” Vallières-Roland said. “They will testify about their last moments with (O’Loughlin).”
The last witness to testify for the Crown will be a pathologist who will describe how the victim was stabbed, causing damage to the victim’s liver and heart. O’Loughlin lost more than two litres of blood.
The prosecutor warned the jury that the photos the pathologist will present as evidence will be difficult to look at.
“You will be able to conclude, with those photos, that what ultimately happened to the victim is exactly what the accused wanted to happen,” the prosecutor said.
Vallières-Roland said none of the eyewitnesses saw the fatal blow, but alleged the brothers “were acting in concert.”
After attacking the victim, the brothers grabbed a phone from O’Loughlin’s friend from B.C. while he tried to call 911, Vallières-Roland said. They then returned to the apartment where the two women resided, gathered bottles of booze and their personal effects and ran from the crime scene, he added.
