The Sureté du Quebec is investigating the murder of two men whose bodies were found inside an apartment in the Laurentian town of Lachute.
The Surete du Quebec discovered the bodies about 1 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor of a duplex at 311 B Argenteuil Ave.
On Wednesday they confirmed the men were murdered.
The bodies of Christian de Champlain, 44, and Gilles Pilon, 61, were only removed at midday on Wednesday.
Pilon lived upstairs, while De Champlain lived downstairs, and police are not sure why De Champlain was upstairs.
There are no witnesses, and nobody had seen either man since Monday night.
However police are looking for one man as a possible witness: Dominic Bertrand, who lived with Pilon.
“The last time he was seen was when the two bodies were found. He's one of the residents of the apartment,” said SQ Sgt. Marc Tessier.
Bertrand is 30 years old and neighbours say he suffered from a mental illness.
He is 1.8 m, 80 kg (5'11", 180 lbs), with brown hair shaved on both sides of his head, and tattoos on his forearms. He normally rides a yellow mountain bike.
Anyone who sees him is advised to leave him alone and contact police at 1-800-659-4264 or 911.
The Surete du Quebec spent the afternoon canvassing the streets of Lachute, looking for Bertrand. They don't believe he travelled far away, as his only mode of transportation is his bicycle.
Police brought in a helicopter to seekBertrand.
A few residents expressed concern that a possible assailant remains at large, though police were clear that Betrand is only a witness, and is not a suspect for the time being.
One man at the scene identified himself to CTV Montreal as the brother of one of the men who lived at that address. He said he hadn't been in contact with his brother in some time.
Firefighters removed pets from the apartment so as not to disturb the crime scene.
“They had two dogs inside the apartment so we asked the fire department outcome help us take out both the dogs,” said Tessier.
Lachute is about 85 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
