'It’s difficult to accept': Quebec woman, 56, killed in suspected murder-suicide

MONTREAL -

A Quebec woman believed to be the province's 12th femicide victim this year is being remembered as an exceptional worker and respected woman in the community in Contrecoeur, about 60 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

"Everybody is shocked, shaken," said the city's mayor, Maud Allaire, Thursday. "I offer my sincere condolences to the family and everyone in the region."

Quebec provincial police confirmed Wednesday night that the bodies of two people found dead in Contrecoeur were a murder-suicide. The bodies were identified as Lisette Corbeil, 56 and David Joly, 49, Sûreté du Québec (SQ) spokesperson Valérie Beauchamp told CTV News.

The small community of roughly 6,000 people is reeling as investigators believe Corbeil was murdered and then Joly took his own life. 

"Lisette Corbeil was a determined woman, a very efficient woman, a very intelligent woman, a woman determined to achieve her goals, an emancipated woman who smashed several glass ceilings," Allaire said. 

Allaire said she hopes the tragedy results in not just awareness about family violence but also concrete action.

"These are actions that we can’t explain, it’s difficult to accept. That’s why we have to offer our support and ensure that as quickly as possible that all together we make known the resources available for women, men, children and also the elderly because there are too many horror stories of violence everywhere," she said. 

A source told CTV News that Joly and Corbeil had been in a relationship some time ago.

Corbeil worked as a director of strategic projects for the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de la Rive-Sud and was well known in her community. 

The couple's bodies were found shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday in single-family dwelling on Marie-Victorin Street, near Montée St-Roch in Contrecoeur, about an hour northeast of Montreal.

Autopsies will be conducted in the next few days to determine the causes of death.

On Thursday, Quebec Premier Francois Legault offered his condolences and was asked what more his government could do, after investing heavily in programs for domestic violence victims.

"It's the responsibility of all our society to fight against this type of violence," Legault said. "I want to tell the population if you're aware of something, please denounce."

SUPPORT NETWORK

Victims of domestic violence can contact SOS violence conjugale at 1-800-363-9010.

Other resources:

• Federation des Maisons d'Hebergement pour Femmes
• Espace Sans Violence
• Regroupement des Maisons Pour Femmes Victimes de Violence Conjugale
• Centre de Solidarite Lesbienne

With files from CTV Montreal's Angela Mackenzie and The Canadian Press