Protesters demand justice after Quebec man accused of murdering ex-girlfriend

The 27-year-old woman who was found dead Tuesday in Candiac was Josiane Faucher, who recently broke up with her boyfriend who is now accused of killing her.

She worked at a bank and, according to an interview her sister gave to TVA Nouvelles, she was trying to get out of a toxic relationship.

She was found dead in her apartment on Toulouse Street just before noon Tuesday. The following day, 38-year-old David Tota was arrested by police.

Faucher is believed to be the ninth victim of a femicide in Quebec since the beginning of the year and today a protest outside of the Longueuil courthouse by those working to protect and help victims of conjugal violence.

"It feels very, very sad because it seems like she didn't merit that," said Kim Arbelastei, a women's advocate. "You know, she just fell in love with this person, whether she married him or she just was in a relationship with him and she lost her life. So she lost everything that she could live for her dreams, her values."

Faucher's social media profile is filled with pictures of her travelling with a man 10 years her senior. It also reveals she had broken up with her boyfriend but they were still living together and she had begun seeing another man.

The man accused of murdering Faucher will be back in court on Friday, but that's of little comfort for women who spent years denouncing this form of violence.

"And it's sad to hear that again," said Tania Howef, a women's advocate. "Someone else was murdered. Someone else that, you know, maybe it could have been prevented, you know, and that's what we want to do. We want to help these women."