Index of related unsolved murders in Quebec in the 1970s

INDEX

RELATED UNSOLVED MURDERS AND DISAPPEARANCES IN QUEBEC IN THE 1970s

(click on the name for detailed case information)

1. Alice Pare – Drummondville – April 26, 1971
2. Norma O’Brien & Debbie Fisher – Chateauguay – 1974-75 (solved / provided for context)
3. Sharron Prior – Montreal / Longueuil – April 1, 1975
4. Lise Choquette – East End Montreal / Laval – April 20, 1975
5. Louise Camirand – Eastern Townships – March 25, 1977
6. Unidentified – Longueuil – April 2, 1977
7. Jocelyne Houle – East End Montreal / St. Calixte – April 17, 1977
8. Johanne Danserau – Missing from Fabreville – June 14, 1977
9. Sylvie Doucet – Missing from East End Montreal – June 27, 1977
10. Claudette Poirier – Drummondville – July 27, 1977
11. Johanne Dorion – Fabreville / Laval / Montreal North – July 29, 1977
12. Chantal Tremblay – Montreal North / Rosemere – July 29, 1977
13. Helene Monast – Chambly – September 10, 1977
14. Katherine Hawkes – Montreal North – September 20, 1977
15. Denise Bazinet – East End Montreal / Saint Luc – October 23, 1977
16. Manon Dube – Eastern Townships – January 27, 1978
17. Lison Blais – East End Montreal – June 3, 1978
18. Theresa Allore – Eastern Townships – November 3, 1978
19. Unknown Victim 2 (Maria Dolores Brava) – Dorval, Montreal – June 2, 1979
20. Nicole Gaudreaux – Montreal  – August 3, 1979 
21. Coda: Tammy Leakey – Dorval, Montreal – March 12, 1981

THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED

1. The bodies of Sharron Prior and Unidentified were both found on Chemin du Lac in Longueuil. Prior was found April 1, 1975, Unidentified was found April 2, 1977, almost exactly 2 years to the date of the discovery of Prior.
2. The murders of Prior and Houle are very similar, their crime scenes are practically identical.
3. Chantal Tremblay took the bus to the Henri Bourassa metro station and disappeared. The bus that Johanne Dorion used to commute to/from Cartierville and Laval was on the Henri Bourassa transit line. Dorion worked in Cartierville, took the bus home, then disappeared. Katherine Hawkes lived in Cartierville, and was commuting home on the bus from downtown Montreal the night she died.
4. A tape exists of Katherine Hawkes’ killer’s voice. Her assailant called in to police twice the evening that she died to tell them the location of the body. The police recorded it. However it took police almost 18 hours to investigate the location (and this only after 2 citizens had found the body).
5. Denise Bazinet lived approximately 3 blocks from Lison Blais in Montreal’s East End.
6. A purse matching the description of the one Lison Blais owned was recovered at the Louise Camirand dump site in Austin. Quebec. This is the same location where clothing matching the description of those last worn by Theresa Allore was also found by hunters.  Finally, the remnant of a shoe was found at the same location matching the description on Chinese slippers last worn by Theresa Allore
7. Tammy Leakey’s body was found in Dorval less than a mile from where Unknown Victim 2 was found 1 1/2 years earlier.

INVESTIGATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Investigate the deaths of Sharron Prior, Jocelyn Houle and “Unidentified” as possibly connected cases committed by one offender (Suspect #1, The Longueuil Killer). This will require cooperation between the Longueuil and Surete du Quebec police forces.
2. Investigate the murders Louise Camirand, Helene Monast, Denise Bazinet, Lison Blais, Theresa Allore and Sharron Prior as possibly connected cases committed by one offender (Suspect #2, The Bootlace Killer). This will require cooperation between the Longueuil, Montreal, and Surete du Quebec police forces.
3. Investigate the murders Chantal Tremblay, Joanne Dorion and Katherine Hawkes as possibly connected cases committed by one offender (Suspect #3, The Commuter Killer). This will require cooperation between the Laval, Montreal, and Surete du Quebec police forces.

Here is a map (click to go to interactive link):

PUBLIC SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS:

Only three things that can solve a crime:

1. An eyewitness
2. A confession
3. Physical Evidence.

The perpetrators in these cases would have to be – at best – 60 years old today. More than likely they are much older or already dead. Quebec police cannot realistically expect citizens to come forward with new information on these cases when the public is not even aware that the murders occurred, or –  when in some situations – the police refuse to acknowledge that crimes were even committed. Through attrition the Quebec police will ensure that any possibility of a confession or eyewitness testimony in these matters is eliminated. Everyone who touched the case will have died. 

This brings us to the second matter of the destruction of physical evidence. We already have confirmation of evidence destruction by the Surete du Quebec and the Longueuil police. Just yesterday we learned of the recent destruction of evidence by the Montreal police. We suspect that these actions have long been accepted practices by Quebec police. 

By destroying case evidence, by limiting the opportunities of a confession or eyewitness testimony, Quebec police forces have engaged in investigative genocide.

The following actions should be taken immediately:

1. In addition to Helene Monast and Theresa Allore, the following cases should immediately be added to the Surete du Quebec’s L’équipe des Dossiers non résolus:  Alice Pare, Louise Camirand, Jocelyne Houle, Claudette Poirier, Denise Bazinet, and (if it is in their jurisdiction), Chantal Tremblay.
2. A unified cold-case task force needs to be created for all of Quebec to ensure cooperation / coordination between Quebec police agencies.
3. Access to cold-case information for family members of victims needs to be granted immediately. It should not be that I have access to my sister’s case information, while a family like the Dorions or Blais’ are denied access by Laval and Montreal police forces. All Quebec police agencies should be required to provide the same level-of-service to all victims.
4. An inquiry needs to be made by the Quebec government into the systematic destruction of cold-case physical evidence by Quebec police agencies to ensure the integrity of public safety in the province.