Francesca St-Pierre Murder: Remorseless Killer Gets 6 Years

A Montreal judge imposed a six-year sentence on the unidentified juvenile who beat Francesca St-Pierre, 14, to death with a baseball bat in 2007.  The killer, who was 15 at the time, was remorseless as his sentence was read and even smiled when he heard the six-year term.

Francesca St-Pierre and her killer were living in the same group home at the time of the brutal murder.  The young man who killed her followed her as she rode her bike on trails and beat her to death with a baseball bat from the group home.  Francesca St-Pierre was found on the trail 24 hours after she was reported missing by her foster family; her killer said nothing.

The remorseless behavior of Francesca St-Pierre's killer is typical of a sociopathic personality.  He showed no remorse, appeared to understand his actions and lack empathy both at the time of the murder and after the fact, and was described by those who knew him as having a "God-like superiority complex."

Francesca St-Pierre's killer was on medication for a host of disorders, many of which mimic the behaviors of adult sociopathy, but because of his age was not diagnosed with the disorder.  Under DSM-IV guidelines sociopathy (sometimes referred to as psychopathy) is not diagnosed in people under the age of 18, although many exhibit the classic behavior patterns long before reaching this age and juvenile diagnostic tools do exist.

The young man who killed Francesca St-Pierre without remorse was given the apparently light sentence because he suffered from several disorders and was on medication at the time. Francesca St-Pierre's family and prosecutors argued that the medication made him MORE aware of his actions but the judge disagreed.

Francesca St-Pierre's family is planning to launch a lawsuit against the province for its gross negligence in protecting Francesca while she was under government care.