Joseph Ruel

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Note :
Convicted murderer. Joseph Ruel was the first person executed in Canada after its 1867 Confederation. The date chosen by authorities for the public hanging was the first anniversary of the Dominion of Canada, July 1, 1868. The execution was preceded by months of sensational coverage. Ruel had been widowed on November 12, 1866, shortly after which he took up residence at the home of Toussaint Boulet. A married farmer, Boulet had reportedly contracted venereal disease, which Ruel, who was not a doctor, had ostensibly been treating. Ruel openly conducted an affair with Boulet's wife, Aurélie Messier. The affair was apparently tolerated by society, due to Boulet's infidelity and resultant illness. At the same time, Ruel had been obtaining arsenic and strychnine from area physicians, indicating that he was utilizing the poisons for the foxes that he was trapping. On February 12, 1868, he and Messier's sister administered some "medicine" to Boulet. Within minutes, there was onset of emesis and convulsions. Boulet died two hours later at the age of 39. The subsequent investigation led to the conclusion that Boulet had been poisoned with strychnine and Ruel was charged with murder. Witness testimony essentially appeared in its entirety in front page newspaper coverage during the course of the trial which took place in May of that year. Ruel was found guilty of murder. A crowd of thousands in Saint Hyacinthe somberly celebrated the first anniversary of their country, on what would become known as Dominion Day, by witnessing the execution of Joseph Ruel.

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