Bio

Melanie Alix was born in 1974. She lived on the South Shore of Montreal.

Her brother is Francois Alix. He is about 18 months older than her. He said she was manipulative and mean and called her "very dangerous."

Alix told authorities and the court that she had been sexually abused by her grandfather in childhood. She also said she was sexually abused by her brother in adolescence.

She named an ex-boyfriend, Stephane Leblanc, and said he had raped and physically abused her. She also spoke about car accidents and about being tortured by police.

Murder Story

A jury found Melanie Alix guilty of arson and first-degree murder in the deaths of her wheelchair-bound mother, Francine Levesque, and her one-year-old son, Matisse Alix-Leblanc. The verdicts also included a conviction for the attempted murder of another person. The jury had seven women and five men. They took six days to reach their decisions after a trial that lasted more than two months.

Investigators determined both fires were deliberately set. Both Levesque and Matisse were found to have been drugged with the sleep-inducing antidepressant oxazepam, for which Alix had a prescription. Prosecutors said both victims died of smoke inhalation and that the time of death was important to the case. Fire scene analysts noted multiple sites of origin in the blazes.

During testimony, Alix blamed others for the deaths. She blamed her brother for their mother’s death and her ex-boyfriend, Stephane Leblanc, for their son’s death. She also told the court about alleged abuse in her past. Under cross-examination, jurors and lawyers pointed to contradictions between her court testimony and a videotaped police confession from 2003. In that interview, she admitted to investigators she had drugged her children before setting a fire on the stovetop, but in court she said detectives had put words in her mouth.

Alix was sentenced by Quebec Superior Court Justice France Charbonneau to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for the two murders. She was also sentenced to eight years for the attempted murder charge, which ended up as five years and two months after credit for time served. The sentences were to be served concurrently. Two arson charges were stayed.

Family members and the child’s father reacted to the sentence in court. Francois Alix, her brother, said, “She’s very dangerous.” Stephane Leblanc said he was happy when he saw Alix’s face at sentencing. Prosecutors said the jurors saw through Alix’s attempts to cast herself as a victim, and Alix said she would appeal any guilty verdict and seek inquiries into the handling of her case.