The arrest of a 48-year-old Ahuntsic man suspected of murdering Natasha Cournoyer has stirred many emotions for those close to her -- including anger.
In a letter sent to French-language television network TVA, Cournoyer's boyfriend Michel Trottier said he was upset and frustrated after learning that the man arrested by police on Thursday evening has a criminal record.
"It is evident our system has little control over predators," the letter said.
Claude Larouche has prior convictions for sexual assault in 1991, and for attempted kidnapping in 2003.
His seven-year-old victim managed to escape, and Larouche was released from prison after serving a 13-month sentence.
At the time, his DNA was put into a bank -- which is how Montreal police were able to connect him to the Cournoyer case.
Larouche's arrest comes one month after Cournoyer, a Corrections Canada employee, disappeared from the parking lot at her Laval workplace.
Five days after the 37-year-old vanished, her body was found in a wooded area in Montreal's east end.
Police believe she was a random target.
Larouche appeared in court Friday to be charged with first-degree murder, and will return to court Dec. 8.
