On eve of trial, man admits to murder of Max Boudreau
CBC
Crying and sobs could be heard Monday in a Moncton courtroom filled with family and friends of Max Boudreau as a man admitted to killing him with an axe in 2022.
Justin Barrow, who was set to stand trial on a charge of first-degree murder over four weeks starting next week, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder.
The 43-year-old Moncton man admitted killing Boudreau on Nov. 15, 2022.
Second-degree is a homicide that generally involves less planning than first-degree.
Outside the courthouse after Barrow's plea, Boudreau's mother, Lise Lamoureux, was distraught.
"In my eyes, he got away with murder," she said.
A few minutes earlier, the details Barrow was admitting were outlined to Court of King's Bench Justice Robert Dysart by Crown prosecutor Maurice Blanchard.
Blanchard said Boudreau had gone to Angie's Show Palace, a strip club in Dieppe, with several friends.
Blanchard said Boudreau left in a taxi around 2:55 a.m. and Barrow, who worked at the strip club as a DJ, followed the taxi in his own vehicle.
Blanchard said Barrow intercepted the taxi after a short distance, and Boudreau got into Barrow's vehicle.
The prosecutor said Barrow drove toward Irishtown and stopped on Paris Boulevard in a subdivision under construction. There, Blanchard said there was a dispute.
"Mr. Barrow struck Mr. Boudreau with his fists," Blanchard said. "He then cut him using a knife and finally struck him with an axe."
Barrow left Boudreau's remains there. The prosecutor said Barrow led police to the scene on Nov. 22.
More than two dozen people were in the Moncton courtroom as the plea was entered.
