Montreal murder 1991: a sad stumble down bad memory lane

    Montreal 1991: one of the worst years in recent local history, with a rising crack epidemic, a recession, political uncertainty, gays living in fear and tensions between minorities police, plus of course, there was still no internet to speak of. Here's a list of all the incidents which led to the greatest possible tragedy.

Riopel-Forster

Thanh

1 Jan. 11.Wayne Riopel-Forster, 19, demanded landlord Chau Vo Vinh Thanh, 28, make various repairs to his small apartment where he'd1890 Darcy McGee in Cote St. Paul. The young man didn't wish to pay the $290 he owed and smashed the landlord in the head and stabbed him. The landlord's mother Chaud Van Be called police when he failed to return. The killer tried to kill himself in a motel on St. James. Riopel-Forster, on probation at the time for assaulting his girlfriend, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on October 21 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
been living for two months the apartment he was rented from his victim.

2 Jan. 18 Viateur Pelletier, 69, a retired Hydro-Quebec employee, was shot in the head in his apartment at 8395 Aurele Allard near Papineau and Cremazie. Police speculated that he stumbled on an apartment robbery and paid for it with his life.

3 Jan. 21

Hamilton

 Steven "Hambone" Hamilton, 32, of St. Henri, gunned down on the balcony of an apartment at 5024 Ste. Clothilde. Hamilton, 6'4" 180 lbs, lived with his girlfriend in Ville Emard and had been invited to play Ninentendo video games with two men that evening. An argument broke out over money between the men and Hamilton left to the balcony to avoid the quarrel.  Andre "Dede" Martin, 29, shot him in the back of the head. His mother Shirley Hamilton told reporters that Hamilton had been doing drugs but was passive to the point where pepole nicknamed him Pussycat and Teddy Bear. She speculated that his death was a case of mistaken identity. Martin was sentenced May 1 to life imprisonment without parole for 10 years after pleading guilty to a second degree murder charge. 

Andre Martin, killer   

Morais

4. Jan. 22 Luc Morais, 29,originally from Chicoutimi, was shot dead while backing a car out of a laneway near St. Denis and Laurier after leaving his place at5145 Drolet. The killer used a .32 calibre with a silencer and left the weapon there.

Zella Medeiros, 16, screams after
dad killed

Medeiros

5 Feb. 1 Cornelio Medeiros, 48, had been running the corner store at 4800 Clark, corner Villeneuve, for two years after moving to Canada from the Acores Portugal. A thief, described as about 20-years-old, English speaking and black, shot him dead in a robbery in front of his horrified daughter at about 9:50 p.m. on a Friday evening. Medeiros came to Canada in 1970 and fathered seven daughters and three sons, aged between 7 and 25. (A few days later a thief tried to rob a Portugeuse-run jewelry store nearby, taking Paulo Gomez, 31, hostage. A police officer shot Michel Doiron, 42, as he held a gun to the man's head)

6 Feb. 5

Roy

Construction worker Roger Roy, 34, was shot three times in the head outside of 7300 Henri Bourassa East as he sat in a car outside a restaurant. Roy was separated from his wife and living with two teenage children and his mother on 41st Ave. in St. Michel. He worked in snow clearance and had a previous record for breaking and entry from 1980.

Gauthier

7 Feb. 18. Two men in masks shot Jacques Gauthier, 39, dead on a sidewalk.

8 March 1. The unidentified body of a man beaten to death was found in a north end dump.

Labbee

9 March 10. Taxi driver Michel Labbe, 45, was strangled at a taxi drivers' communal space at 4200 Denis Paquin apt 2. His body was found a few hours later minus the $2,000 he had from a Haitian lottery called borlotte. Police suspected that the Master B street gang.  (In Dec. 1988 another taxi driver, Marc Anglade Lornestoire, 51, was shot dead after being robbed with a similar lottery take at 8530 Viau apt. 3).

Perrault

10 March 15. Stephane Perreault, 21, of Pointe aux Trembles, was shot and killed with two shotgun blasts on the ice of the St. Lawrence River at the bottom of Bellerive near 84th on the eastern tip of the islandl. Marc Deraiche, 20, and Serge Gauthier, 21, were found guilty Dec. 18 and sentenced to life imprisonment. The three had dealt drugs together since the age of 15. A person walking a dog witnessed the scene and alerted a police officer neighbour.

Sylvain Sauriol

11 March 18. Richard (Ricky) McGurnaghan, 42, was shot dead in the Olympic Tavern. Gerald Gallant, considered the second-most prolific hit man in the history of Quebec, confessed to the killing many years later.

Lecours

12 March 21. Suzanne Lecours, 28, shot outside a brasserie at 8401 Metropolitan in Anjou. She had just exited her car and was walking to the bar at about 10 p.m. She had three kids and her ex-husband, 38, was with her. The killer wore a mask.









13.March 31. Sylvain Sauriol, 30, was killed with a hammer in a friend's apartment on Davidson. Sauriol was from the Laurentians.

Ethier

14 April 2. Salesman Gaetan Ethier, 46, was found dead at his friend's place at 4335 St. Andre apt 3. He was a divorced salesman from Laval who frequented gay nightclubs.

Breidi

15 April 2. Antoine Breidi, 46, was shot twice in the head in the bedroom of his home  at 9172A 13th Ave. in St. Michel. Breidi was a Lebanese who came to Montreal 20 years earlier. His wife and two young children were out at the time for a religious occasion. He had been working at a Toyota body shop on Lacordaire for the last 10 months.

Assaly

16 April 7. Robert Assaly, 59, a gay, retired Montreal high school teacher, was stabbed in his Nuns' Island apartment at 201 Corot apt 917. Serial killer Michael McGray later confessed.









17 April 10. Claude Dugas, 28, was shot dead  outside a Rosemont depanneur at 3148 Dandurand that he and another man robbed. Shop owner Francois Guerin, 35, was charged with criminal negligence causing death. Guerin had been repeatedly robbed. Police arrested the other thief. 

18 April 18. Maurice Kubik, 19, stabbed Rene Otto Alvarez, 19, to death in a fight after Alvarez and pals allegedly disrespected his girlfriend at a bus shelter at Pie IX and Jarry. Three young Latinos were flirting with the girls in front of their boyfriends, which led to the altercation between the five men. The three Latinos had just exited a bar on Metropolitain Blvd. The altercation occurred Friday night at 11:30 p.m. and the victim died in hospital six hours later.

Devault, top Guerin, bottom

19 April 27 Janitor Giuseppe Fioramore, 45, was stabbed and beaten by a drifter Maurice Bourbeau, 28, in an east-end Viau St. apartment building. Bourbeau was sentenced to life in prison.

20 April 30. Daniel Deveault, 27, was shot twice in the head in his apartment on Wellington in Verdun. George Harris, 38, was arrested and charged in April.

21 May 3. Jean-Guy Sauve, 53, killed neighbour Sylvain Hamelin, 20, during an argument. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Sauve

22 May 8. Montreal salesman Normand Gareau, 45, of Sherbrooke St. E., who had been missing for a month, was found in woods at L'Assomption.

23 May 13. Criminal lawyer Sidney Leithman, 54, was gunned down in his Saab as he drove to work from his Town of Mount Royal






24 May 20 Retired realtor Rene Dagenais, 71, was beaten to death in his home at 240 Somerville in Ahuntsic. His son, lawyer Louis Dagenais, 34, found his body. It is believed that he surprised thieves in his place after he returned from the Laurentians.

Duguay

25 May 26 Karate expert Yves Duguay, 37, was shot dead by two men, one wielding a machine gun and another a pistol after leaving his girlfriend's place at 569 Davidson to walk her doberman. He was going to buy smokes but was shot dead by two killers who waited three hours in a nearby lane. He managed to run 10 metres before collapsing on Nicolet near St. Catherine. Duguay was close friends with Mercier Remy who threatened to kill the next police officer who killed a black person.

Desilets

26 June 1 Emilienne Desilets, 75, died after she and her sister Germaine Desilets, 80, spent five days left bound and gagged by robbers who ransacked their place at 5799 Jean Talon St. E. apt 17. The victim suffered from MS and was in a wheelchair when she succumbed. The four thieves entered by pretending to work for Hydro Quebec who did not say a single word while stealing their items and leaving.

Kalousdian

27 June 6 Car dealer Hagop Kalousdian, 41, of Laval, was shot dead in a car in a lane behind a St. Denis St. grocery store. It is believed to have been related to a drug deal.

Galt

28 June 10 Ada Burns, 82, was stabbed in the throat and chest in her bed in a Verdun seniors' residence on Galt in Verdun.












29 June 14 Normand Groleau, 50, of Pierrefonds, was kidnapped and killed by three hooded attackers.

Phaneuf

Vachon

30 June 20 Constable Yves Phaneuf, 25, of Montreal Urban Community

police, was disarmed and shot by cyclist Daniel Vachon, 33, near the aqueduct in Verdun. Vachon had been staying at a halfway house at 630 4th Ave in Verdun. Vachon was only apprehended after missing a parole meeting. A bag he was carrying contained a mask, plastic handcuffs knife and the same gun that killed Phaneuf.


31 June 24 Lionel Laliberte, 69, was killed during an argument by son, Jean Laliberte, 37, who was sentenced to seven years.  to seven years' imprisonment.

Kammoun

32 July 2 Building superintendent Lucette Mageau-Casey, 40, was hacked to death at 2 a.m. in a small office at 80 Pine Ave. W. Lebanese-Canadian artist Zouhair Hedi Kammoun, 29, was arrested in a bar in St. Hyachinte.  The killer dumped the murder weapon in bushes a weapon near Jeanne Darc Hospital at St. Urbain. The killer was about to be evicted from the apartment.





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33 July 11 George Roberts, 25, was stabbed to death defending a woman from her boyfriend. Sylvain Gendreau, 20, got seven years for manslaughter.

St. Jean

34 July 14 Guylaine "Fanny" Gent, 20, was stabbed and dumped in a wooded area of Riviere des Prairies. Andre St. Jean, 32, of Laval pleaded guilty Nov. 1 to second degree murder and was sentenced to life. St. Jean had been paroled seven months earlier. Gent lay in a puddle of blood for a dozen hours after being stabbed in the stomach. She was found dead at Armand Chaput and Rolland Jeannot. Witnesses reported seeing a Hyundai Pony in the area and police traced the vehicle to a restaurant on Cartier in Laval at 3 a.m that same night.

35 July 20 Pietro Omobono, 46, co-owner of Club Social Prestige at 7016 St. Lawrence was shot dead at 7 a.m. by a robber in the offic of his bar, an illegal after-hours bar. Andre Lemarbre, 32, took off with $25 after shooting Omobono in the abdomen. Sylvain Rodrigue was also arrested. The victim was an associate of Hagop Kaloussdian, killed June 6.

Pitre

36 ​July 21 Josee Pitre, 20, was shot by a stray bullet in the crossfire of gunfight between two groups after a dance at the Black Community Council's headquarters at 2121 Old Orchard. The bullet went thru her body from one shoulder to another. The victim had many black friends, including her Jamaican boyfriend and could speak English, French and Creole. She was not married and had no kids. About 100 people were standing on the sidewalk at 3:30 a.m. after the dance. Two others were injured in the shooting.

McKay

37 July 22 Dean McKay, 22, was shot in a field near a bicycle path off 6450 Notre Dame W. Police believe that since the killing occurred so soon after Pitre's killing that it might have been linked.

Mansfield

38-39 July 22 Paul Shaker strangled two men with an electrical cord at 2915 St. Joseph apt. 5, one Sunday at 11 a.m and the second Monday at 4 a.m. The first victim was Jean-Pierre Masse, 37, the killer's landlord. The second was a drug dealer named Mike Mansfield, 24. Shaker lured his landlord to come by with the story of somebody trying to break in. He stole $20 from his landlord before killing him. Shaker got about $1,000 from Mansfield. Shaker, who had a previous record for sexual assault, was arrested with Paul Bedard a few days later after taking three people hostage in a cottage in Asbestos Quebec.






40 July 28 Mario Labarre, 28, was stabbed during an argument with Mario Giroux, 28, who was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. 

Schroepher

41 July 31 Yves Gagnon, 28, was shot dead in a laneway off Leger Blvd.

42 Aug. 2 Realtor Pasquale Carluccio, 59, had his throat cut in his St. Leonard triplex at 9062 Jamay during an argument over a debt. Pasquale Iantosca, 26, was charged with second-degree murder after being rounded up a few hours later..

Haywood

43 Aug. 24 Abel Anes Lopez, 40, was stabbed to death in a Duluth St. E. apartment..

44 Sept. 1  Crack dealer Kirt Haywood, 28, who was awaiting charges of attempted murder, was found dead at 6:20 a.m. near a warehouse in Point Claire.


See also: The epic tale of Montreal's Dirty Harry and his one-man war on crack cocaine

Abraham McKenzie

45 Sept. 2 Michael Abraham McKenzie, 21, shot dead at a crackhouse at 2860 Linton apt. 2 A man descrbed as black shot him at 10:05 on a Monday night. .

Roncatti

46 Sept. 9 Figuerdo Roncatti, 26, was stabbed to death at 5225 Clark apt 19.  Police believed it to be a cocaine-dealing-related killing after finding cocaine equipment.  Roncatti had gone awol after applying for refugee status after arriving from Chile.

Beaudry

47 Sept. 10 Lawyer Paul Beaudry, 34, was gunned down in his office in Old Montreal. He was lawyer for Kirt Haywood.











48 Sept. 11 Steven Clarke, 31, killed his mother Joan Williams, 56, at 2230 Grand in NDG.

Berthiaume

49 Sept. 12 Bernard Berthiaume, 41, shot five times in the head and body at about 1 a.m. in the Via Rail parking lot near the Bonaventure Hotel. No arrests.

50 Sept. 12 Daniel Bouchard, 36, stabbed to death at about 7:30 a.m. in east-end Valois Park. Pascal Lebreux, 26, is behind bars awaiting preliminary hearing Jan. 25 on a second-degree murder charge.

51 Sept. 12 Giuseppe Ciancio, 36, died in hospital a week after he was shot in a Gaspe Ave. house. No arrests. shot in the head - still got downstairs to ask neibghbour to call 911
shot in the forehead he was having coffee with 2 acquaintances around 1 pm when one took otu a gun and shot im. victim known to the police as a drug dealer

Lalancette

52 Sept. 15 Roger Lalancette, 45, shot twice in the face by an intruder while watching television in his St. Leonard home. No arrests.

Swan

53 Sept. 16 Edison Swan, 31, gunned down at 10 p.m. in front of his children in the laundry room of the family's Little Burgundy home at 1835 Elgin Terrace. Swan, from Trinidad, had minor previous drug offences and his death was thought to be part of a drug war between rival gangs.


54 Sept. 20 Marc Bellerive, 33, an accountant for a company in Laval, was stabbed to death while cycling in Maisonneuve Park.

Bellerive

55 Sept. 25 Eva Berthelot-Paradis, 67, was bludgeoned to death at her apartment at 3248 Lacordaire. She was found dead in the basement. There was no sign of a break-in. Her husband was away on a camping trip.

56-57 Sept. 25 Rene Arsenault, 36, and Bruno Jourdain, 35, were both knifed to death in a drug-shooting gallery at 1022 Ontario near Amherst at 8:45  a.m. The apartment belonged to Rene Arsenault. Jourdain was an unemployed welder from the Gaspe.

Aprahamian

58 Sept. 25 Lebanese drug dealer Sadek Sadek, 22, was charged with strangling Johannie Aprahamian, 22, in the basement of his Zena fruit store 365 Mout Royal E. Police stumbled onto the site after seeing a broken window. Sadek started his store as a legit enterprise but eventually switched over to full time cocaine. He was known as a big swinger in the cocaine industry, as was his brother.






59 Oct. 7 Chien-Chin Wong, 49, was stabbed to death at 59 Franklin in Town of Mount Royal  Her son, Raymond Wong, 24, was charged. The victim was married to Dr. Kwan Wong of the St. Michel Hospital. The killer had been treated for schizophrenia.

Johnson

Page

60 Oct. 8 Christopher Johnson, 24, from Kingston Jamaican, was handcuffed and shot in the head at 6022 Park apt 3.  He was on bail awaiting drug charges and was still alive when police arrived. He lived at 6014 Park. The suspect was apprehended after burning two red lights in a white Subaru. Three Afro-Canadians were apprehended at Bernard and Wiseman.

Croft

61 Oct. 10 Pierre-Yvan Croft, 48, stabbed at least 15 times in Jarry Park. He was the eighth gay male killed in a short time since 1989. He lived in a small apartment at 5649 St. Hubert and was an adult student.

Damico

62 Oct. 14. Antonio Damico, 58, shot in the after intruders broke into his place at 333 Belanger East. He had been separated for a year and had no criminal history.

Doyon

63 Oct. 19 Lottery buff Samuel-Jean Doyon, 46, shot through the door of his Sherbrooke St. E. apartment, apparently by someone who thought he had won big. No arrests.

Coehlo

Ionita

64 Oct. 21 Urbano Coelho, 35, argued and shot dead the Romanian Stephane Ionita, 29, dead behind the Montebello Bar at 1336 Jean Talon at 2:45 a.m. Coelho was apprehended shortly after at his friend's place at 10725 Clark.

Cazes

65 Oct. 21 Bar employee Alain Cazes, 23, was stabbed to death in the chest in a robbery at the Sheena Cafe at 6310 Jean Talon. The place was owned by Paul Cotroni.. No arrests.

Dufresne

66 Nov. 2 Ginette Dufresne, 34, a drug addict and former nurse, was found beaten and strangled at a shooting-gallery at 2010 Fullum. Janitor found the body after looking into the apartment for a water leak.

Smith

67 Nov. 6 Andrew Smith, 18, was shot outside a drug-shooting gallery near 5795 Louisbourg in Cartierville. Aaron "Prince" Green, 19, was charged with first-degree murder charge. The killers chased Smith a big distance around Grenet and Louisbourg, firing a dozen shots until one hit him in the head at 11:30 p.m. on a Wednesday. Smith came to Canada from the Caribbean the year before and was facing drug charges.

Labonte

Labonte

68 Nov. 12 Salvatore Luca, 48, shot and killed his wife, seamstress Caterina Luca, 41, with a 12-gauge shotgun in their laundry room at 9 a.m. at 3419 Emile Journault. The killer rushed to seek protection from the Peacekeepers of Kahnawake. They turned him over to police. Luca was found not criminally responsible due to insanity the next year.




69 Nov. 18 Pierre Clement, 31, stabbed wife Line Labonte, 29, to death in her home at 2289 Cuvillier (address unverified). home in the east end. They had a six-year-old daughter. She was the sister-in-law of boxer Mario Cusson.

Cote and the Barina Bar

70 Nov. 22 Brebeuf student Marie-Claude Cote, 17, was found in the St. Lawrence River after she went missing from the Barina Lounge at 2015 de l'Eglise on Oct 13. She had been with her friend Karine Archambault, 19, until 2:15 a.m. and simply disappeared. She is believed to have been kidnapped, possibly by a motorist from whom she asked directions earlier in the evening. A $25,000 reward did
nothing to solve the mystery.

71 Nov. 30 Garfield Walker, 30, stabbed in the back and beaten to death at 4080 Henri Julien. Walker was gay and last seen with a stranger in the gay village

Beaulieu

72 Dec. 5 Michel Beaulieu, 46, was shot twice in the head at 5623 9th Ave. in Rosemont. Police suspect his death was linked to drug trafficking. He was known to police.

Gagnon

73 Dec. 6 Louise Gagnon, 29, stabbed in a ground-floor apartment of a Berri St. triplex. Andre Parent, 45, charged with murder.

Rollin

74 Dec. 6 Isabelle Rollin, 23, beaten and left to die in a snowy driveway in St. Michel.








75 Dec. 7 Depanneur clerk Mohammed Beydoun, 46, beaten and strangled during a robbery of the Pierrefonds store at 4934 Sources. Wesley Kurt Schroepher, 37, who lived near the store, was charged with murder. Shroeder, a German, was found at his home at 12110 Pierrefond Blvd with a safe from the store. The victim was a father of two kids, Khaled and Ghiwa aged 17 and 9. His wife hadn't yet arrived from Lebanon and was expected to arrive the same week. Beydoun's body was tossed in the beer fridge and the killer removed the videotape from the VHS before leaving.

Beydoun

76 Dec. 28. Guy Chasse, 29, of Pierrefonds, shot after accusing a neighbor in his apartment building of making a pass at his girlfriend at a Christmas Eve party. Andre Aumais, 29, was charged with murder.

77 Dec. 31 Gabriel Vachon, 64, was beaten to death after an argument in his Notre Dame St. W. apartment. His 19-year- old son, Martin Robert Vachon, was charged with second-degree murder.