FREDERIC SERRE
The 1510 West
A man who killed his parents in their Île Bizard home in 2022 by stabbing them more than 60 times will likely spend the rest of his life in a psychiatric institution, after a Quebec Court judge declared him not guilty of the killings by reason of insanity, but ordered him held indefinitely.
Wayne Arnott, 60, and his wife, Louise Boucher, 65, were a popular West Island couple best known for their community involvement and as owners of the Bluenose collectibles store in Pointe Claire Plaza.
Mitchell Arnott, 31, was arrested on the evening of Oct. 19, 2022, after officers from Montreal Police Station 3 went to the Arnott residence on Des Érables Street in Île Bizard and found the butchered bodies of the victims. Mitchell Arnott was arrested at a hospital after he arrived covered in blood and claiming to have been attacked by his father. He was charged with two counts of second-degree murder.
On Jan. 31, Quebec Court Judge Marc David ruled that Mitchell was not criminally responsible for the killings, but was still a high-risk offender before ordering that he be sent to the Philippe Pinel Institute in east-end Montreal for treatment.
While the verdict came as a relief for Arnott’s daughter, Teneille, who told the court that “this is a tragedy that years of interventions by the medical and judicial system weren’t able to prevent,” she added that the judiciary system must reassure the family that her brother will never be released into the public.
Mitchel Arnott spent years in and out of psychiatric institutions, diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 2016, he was ordered by the court to take medication and undergo permanent psychiatric treatment, which lasted only two years. According to court testimony, he was released only a few days before the murders. In January 2022, he was found not criminally responsible of attacking his spouse.
In the days leading up to the double murders, Mitchell Arnott posted on social media disturbing videos, accusing his father of having a secret relationship with his ex-wife and claiming that Wayne Arnott was a dangerous biker.
Despite the judge’s decision, more than a dozen members of the Arnott family appeared at Montreal’s Palais de Justice to testify that they feared Mitchell would re-offend if he was released. Arnott’s sister told the judge that she was fed up with pleading with the court to keep her brother locked up.
“The last time I did this, I was saying it to the psychiatrist who was treating Mitchell as an in-patient,” Teneille Arnott told the judge. “I pleaded (with the) doctor that he wasn’t ready to be released, but he did it anyway. Five days later, he killed both my parents.”
While the killings shocked friends and clients of the Arnotts, the future of Bluenose collectibles was unknown. However, Teneille Arnott announced last October that the store would continue to operate as a sports card and car modelling business, but with a new owner.
“My dad, Wayne, and grandpa, Ross, spent their lives building Bluenose, a collectibles store where kids and adults alike found their favourite collectibles, or brought in their own collection to sell, grow, or just talk about,” said Teneille Arnott in an exchange with The 1510 West. “After my grandpa and dad’s passing I had been searching for someone to take over their legacy and keep Bluenose alive. That person is Kevin Gallant, a specialist in collectibles, particularly video games and related items for over 10 years. His goal is to revive Bluenose as a community hub, not only to buy and sell collectibles, but where anyone can go and feel welcomed to share about their passion.”
Cutline:
Wayne Arnott and Louise Boucher were brutally murdered in their home in Îe Bizard in 2022.