A man serving time for killing a man with a sword in Burnaby in 2011 was captured in Hungary earlier this month after being unlawfully at large from a minimum security prison in Quebec for more than three months.
Yacine Zouaoui, 32, was convicted of second-degree murder in June 2012 and sentenced to life in prison for killing Zsolt Csikos outside Csikos's Metrotown apartment building on March 26, 2011.
There had been animosity between the two, both members of the Hungarian community, and Csikos had called Zouaoui, who is of Hungarian and Algerian descent, a racial slur, according to information presented in court.
Zouaoui, who was only 19 at the time, stabbed the 43-year-old Csikos in the back with a 26-inch sword he had had concealed in his pant leg and then fled, stashing his bloody weapon and jacket in a Metrotown mall bathroom, according to court documents.
Zouaoui later sought advice from an uncle and then turned himself in to police and cooperated with the investigation.
Zouaoui went missing from the Federal Training Centre in Laval, Que. on May 23, 2024, according to a Sûreté du Québec news release Thursday.
He was arrested in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 3, the release said, and an extradition process is underway to bring him back to Canada.
The Correctional Service of Canada and Sûreté du Québec is now conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Zouaoui's escape.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on X/Twitter @CorNaylor
Email [email protected]
📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in Burnaby? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].
📲 Want to stay updated on Burnaby news? Sign up for our free daily newsletter.
💬 Words missing in an article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
