Suspect in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., killings charged with 2nd-degree murder

The suspect linked to the fatal stabbings of two women southwest of Montreal has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault.

Fabio Puglisi, 44, appeared at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse on Friday by video conference.

On Thursday, police were called to the sixth floor of an apartment building on Émile-Bouchard Street in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., where they discovered the victims and arrested Puglisi, who was also injured.

He is accused of killing his mother Élisabetta Puglisi-Caucci, 68, and his neighbour, Manon Blanchard, 53, a spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) confirmed.

A third victim, Nighat Imtiaz, a woman in her 70s who lives in the same building, was also taken to hospital with stab wounds. She is expected to recover.

Fabio Puglisi's lawyer, Alexandre Dubé, told the judge that he had reason to believe that his client was not fit to stand trial.

The judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation for the accused at Montreal's Philippe-Pinel Institute.

Puglisi is expected back in court on Feb. 22.

Not criminally responsible in past cases

Puglisi has had several run-ins with the law since 2012 for cases of assault, assault causing bodily harm and fraud, but twice he was found not criminally responsible for his actions.

In 2014, an administrative tribunal decided Puglisi was well enough to leave a psychiatric care facility.

In the decision, a psychiatrist described Puglisi as a single man with schizophrenia who was living with his mother and grandmother and who came from a close-knit family. At the time, Puglisi was deemed "clinically stable" and was undergoing treatment.

The psychiatrist added that Puglisi had "insight into the fact that he was unwell in 2011 and that he requires medication in order to prevent a relapse."

"He has good impulse control and has no suicidal or homicidal ideation," the psychiatrist also wrote in the decision.