Man charged in stabbing death of Montreal woman was father of her children

A Quebec support organization for domestic violence victims is calling the death of Gisele Itale Betondi the province's eighth femicide of the year.

On Thursday morning, at an outdoor parking lot in Montreal's Lasalle borough, Betondi was buckling her children into their car seats when she was stabbed. She was confirmed dead in hospital later that day.

Hosea Amorus Puhya, 50, was charged with the first-degree murder of Betondi, 29. He was Betondi's ex-boyfriend and the father of her children, a source confirmed to CTV News.

The organization SOS Violence Conjugale referred to Betondi's killing as a femicide on social media, as did Montreal mayor Valerie Plante.

Plante addressed the tragedy on Twitter Friday.

La violence faite aux femmes n'a pas sa place dans nos sociétés. Je suis choquée par cet autre féminicide et mon cœur se serre en pensant aux trois jeunes enfants qui ont perdu leur maman.

Mes pensées accompagnent la famille et les proches de Gisèle. #polmtl pic.twitter.com/7e2L5Mqdok

— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) September 9, 2022

"Violence against women has no place in our societies," she wrote. "I am shocked by another feminicide and my heart sinks thinking of the three young children who lost their mothers."

Betondi's three children are all below age three. They are currently under the care of youth protection services.

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

Court records show Puhya was acquitted of uttering threats against Betondi on June 21.

He was also charged with robbery and assault with a weapon causing bodily harm in February of 2022.

According to gender-based violence expert Marie-Emanuelle Genesse, Genesse, the red flags were there.

She said the case is typical of past femicide.

"All the signs are there before. There's this relationship of abuse, there's this coercive control, and this is where it's heading," she said. "If we have all the signs, why aren't we doing something to prevent it?"

FEMICIDES REMAIN AN ISSUE IN QUEBEC

Claudine Thibaudeau, clinical coordinator at SOS Violence Conjugale, said the organization received around 58,000 calls for assistance between April 2021 and March 2022.

"That's more than double what we used to get five years ago, so there's still quite a bit of need," she said. "There needs to be a continuing effort to raise awareness. And to be conscious that this is still happening, and it's extremely troublesome for our society to still have this much intimate partner violence that sometimes can result in femicides."

Thibaudeau could not speak about Betondi's case, but said that those seeking to flee a violent situation should consider a shelter rather than living with a friend, as shelter locations are secret and have protection measures in place.

In addition, those who think they may be in a violent situation can fill out an anonymous online survey on the SOS site.

Thibaudeau said though it's too soon to say whether the increased funding and measures Quebec has put in place - such as the conjugal violence court - have had any effect, the increased attention has created more conversation around the issue, which is good.

"What I really think is a good thing that came out of the awareness last year is that people know where to look for help," said Thibaudeau. "Friends and loved ones are more concerned, and they reach out to us also for support and to know how to better support a survivor or someone who's still undergoing violence, so that's a good thing too. But we need to keep talking about it. We need to keep raising awareness because we're not done."

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
• Shield of Athena
• Espace Sans Violence
• Regroupement des Maisons Pour Femmes Victimes de Violence Conjugale
• Centre de Solidarite Lesbienne