Police arrest homicide suspect, 66, in Sorel-Tracy thanks to tips from the public

Quebec provincial police officers locate and a arrest a suspect, 66, alleged to have killed a 77-year-old woman in Mercier on Saturday.

After launching a search for a man wanted in connection with the killing of a woman in Mercier, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) arrested 66-year-old Normand Ladouceur on Tuesday in a Sorel-Tracy parking lot about 110 kilometres away from the crime scene.

Information from the public helped police to track down the suspect and his vehicle, the SQ said in a press release.

Ladouceur was located in the parking lot of a business on Peloquin Boulevard in Sorel-Tracy.

On Saturday, officers with the Mercier police service were called to an apartment on Bourcier Street in Mercier around 1 p.m. and found a woman who was unconscious. She was pronounced dead at the scene, the SQ said.

Police identified her as 77-year-old Thérèse Desbiens.

On Monday, police issued a request for help from the public to help them find the suspect, and released a description of the man and his car, a red 2014 Ford Focus.

Ladouceur will be questioned by investigators and the SQ said he is expected to appear at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse on Wednesday.