A 35-year-old Montreal man who previously stabbed a mother of two to death in Vancouver has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with a homicide at a Plateau Mont-Royal dépanneur. 

Xavier Gellatly, whose criminal history, both in Quebec and in British Columbia, features numerous convictions for violent offences, including animal cruelty, appeared at the Montreal courthouse on Friday. 

He was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Chong Woo Kim, who worked at a corner store on Berri Street, opposite the Laurier Metro station, according to people who said they knew him. 

The killing sparked a major police operation, with officers deployed to several stations in the city’s Metro network, with officers believing that the suspect used public transit after fleeing the scene.

Gellatly has had numerous, often violent, run-ins with the justice system — including the previous fatal stabbing in Vancouver.

In 2012, he killed Chelsea Holden, a 28-year-old mother of two, inside the Cobalt Hotel. During the same incident he stabbed another man seven times. He was convicted of manslaughter and aggravated assault in connection with that case and sentenced to seven years in jail, according to media coverage of the incident.

The Province reported that the judge overseeing the case described Holden, the victim, as “entirely innocent” and little more than a bystander during the fatal encounter. 

Gellatly expressed regret after Vancouver killing

In that case, Gellatly was initially charged with second-degree murder, but the charge was downgraded to manslaughter. 

During those proceedings, he reportedly told the court that he realized the seriousness of what he had done and expressed regret. 

“When I say the phrase, ‘I took someone’s life,’ I still have a hard time believing it,” he told the court. “However it is a fact and I can’t change it. I have to live with what I’ve done.” 

Even before the manslaughter conviction, Gellatly had a history of violent offences. In 2009, in Montreal, he was convicted of assaulting a peace officer and mischief causing property damage. 

While awaiting his manslaughter sentence, he also pleaded guilty to assaulting an inmate and prison guard inside a B.C. prison, according to court records.

After his release from prison in B.C., he returned to Quebec where he was convicted of additional crimes, including uttering threats, failing to comply with a release order and animal cruelty in 2022. 

Details of the animal cruelty case, reported by Info du Nord, indicate that he “violently threw his cat” in an attempt to kill it and also killed his pet rabbit by breaking its neck. 

The prosecutors in that case had requested a 30-month sentence. The defence had argued for six months; the judge imposed eight.

WATCH | Suspect arrested for Montreal homicide:

Hunt for homicide suspect across Montreal’s Metro network ends in dramatic mall arrest

Montreal police are investigating after a man in his 50s was found dead in a corner store in the city’s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, leading to a hunt for the suspect in the city’s public transit system.

Police scour Montreal’s Metro network

Woo Kim, the victim in the Montreal killing, was found dead inside his store, Fleur Bleue, at around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. After the homicide, police searched the Metro system for Gellatly, searching trains and stations throughout the morning. Police said they received calls from citizens reporting the suspect’s presence at multiple scenes.

A surveillance image obtained by Radio-Canada appeared to show Gellatly carrying a green Dollarama bag while waiting for a train at Beaudry station.

A large group of police officers cornerd Gellatly at Complexe Desjardins, a mall that easily accessible through Montreal’s underground transit network, just before noon and arrested him.

After the arrest, the suspect’s green Dollarama bag sat on a table inside the atrium at the shopping mall. It appeared to be stained with blood. Bloodstains also marked a table in the atrium and a blood-soaked piece of gauze was on a nearby bench. 

Gellatly appeared briefly in court via video link on Friday. He answered the judge’s questions with brief responses. He will next appear on May 4.