Marielle Houle is a Canadian woman who helped her ailing son Charles Fariala commit suicide in September 2004 as he struggled with the early stages of multiple sclerosis.
On 28 September 2004, Fariala summoned his mother to his home to complete the death pact he had researched and refined over several months.
Houle pleaded guilty to a charge of helping her son commit suicide, thus liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years, under the provision of s. 241(b) of the Criminal Code.
Justice Maurice Laramée motivated his sentence by the emotional, psychological (borderline personality) and physical fragility of the accused.
He insisted that the sentence is not set to serve as a general model in other cases and warned others who might consider emulating Houle that assisted suicide and mercy killing remains a serious crime in Canada for which the law has no tolerance.