A Quebec man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after admitting to stabbing his pregnant wife nearly 50 times in 2024.
Mustapha Khalil Mechken acknowledged in a statement of facts presented in court that he didn’t feel ready to have a child and was worried that a maternity leave would hurt the couple’s finances.
Khalil Mechken admitted to stabbing 32-year-old Narjes Ben Yedder at least 49 times as she slept in their Montreal home on Jan. 26, 2024, while she was about 10 weeks pregnant.
He then called 911 and told the operator he’d killed her.
The statement of facts says Khalil Mechken had made a number of internet searches in the days leading up to the crime, including on whether a spouse inherits a deceased’s partner’s bank account.
He also looked up sleep troubles, intrusive thoughts, signs of burnout and depression.
One of his Google searches, on Jan. 21, read “I don’t want to take care of my little one.”
He also looked up the length of murder sentences just before he called 911.
The statement of facts says the couple had recently made an offer on a condo in Montreal’s Pointe-aux-Trembles neighbourhood, which had been accepted.
A friend of the murdered woman told investigators that Ben Yedder had told her that her husband didn’t feel ready to be a father.
Ben Yedder told her friend that her husband also regretted the condo purchase, didn’t know what to do with his job and wanted to move back to Tunisia, according to the statement.
Crown prosecutor Pierre-Olivier Bolduc says both he and the defendant’s lawyer are recommending a life sentence with no chance of parole for 22 years. The case returns to court for a sentencing hearing on Nov. 10.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2026.
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