Trial of Edmonton man accused of killing infant son concludes with closing arguments

Christopher Lamarche will find out on Friday morning if a judge believes beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered his six-month-old son. 

Lamarche, 27, is charged with the May 28, 2017 second-degree murder of six-month-old Jarock Humeniuk. 

The charge was laid in July 2019 following an elaborate Mr. Big sting that culminated with Lamarche confessing to an undercover police officer that he "snapped" on the night in question and killed his son. 

"The accused admits to choking Jarock," Crown prosecutor Bonnie Parker said in closing arguments Tuesday in Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench. "He admits to bending Jarock in weird positions. He choked Jarock using a sheet so it would not leave marks." 

The autopsy findings are consistent with the details in Lamarche's confession, Parker said.

"Jarock was happy," she said. "Jarock was a normal baby who was placed in the care of the accused and these injuries were inflicted on him. 

"You should have no doubt the accused intended to cause Jarock's death," Parker told Justice Sterling Sanderman.

Parker said the confession was bolstered further by an admission from Lamarche to an Edmonton detective who questioned him after he was arrested. 

"It wasn't something about jealousy," Lamarche told the detective in the videotaped interview. "It's just I didn't see a very bright future for my own son."

Parker reminded Sanderman that Lamarche repeated the same statement about his motive when he spoke to his father. 

Defence lawyer Evan McIntyre urged the court to find his client not guilty. 

"It would be unsafe to convict Mr. Lamarche based on the evidence heard in this case," McIntyre said. "It is a circumstantial case coupled with an unreliable confession in very questionable circumstances." 

The defence theory is that Lamarche spent two years wondering what had happened to his son. 

"He went to sleep that night, Jarock in a crib by his bed and he was dead when he woke up," McIntyre said. "Mr. Lamarche was the obvious suspect, but he adamantly denied doing anything to his son."