Police called to Laval home hours before woman was stabbed to death
A 30-year-old man accused of stabbing his aunt to death in Laval Thursday night has been charged with second-degree murder as questions remain unanswered about what happened in the hours leading up to the killing.
Police found the victim, 61-year-old Mireille Martin, with stab wounds after they received a 911 call at around 5:30 p.m. for what they described as an altercation at a home in the city's Vimont district.
She was sent to hospital in critical condition where she was later pronounced dead. Her nephew, Jérôme Alfred Frigault, was arrested at the home, near the corner of Paradis Road and Saint Elzéar Boulevard East, and was later sent to hospital for evaluation.
He was formally charged with murder on Friday at the Laval courthouse.
Laval police confirmed that they had been called to the home at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, and an intervention took place with the help of paramedics and social workers. They then left the home, only to return about three hours later to respond to the tragedy.
Police have not released further details about their earlier intervention.
'A KIND-HEARTED WOMAN'
The fatal stabbing has left neighbours in a state of shock.
Aline Breault said her mother saw Martin stumble out of the house past the cars before collapsing to the ground. She then heard a man screaming "Kill me, kill me!" at the police.
Police managed to take away the man — who lived in the same building as the victim — as neighbours watched the dramatic scene unfold.
"She was a kind-hearted woman, always ready to help me," said Lisette Solange, another neighbour.
The victim's ex-boyfriend, who was still in shock, says he's known the accused for years.
"I've known him since he was a child, and he was always a good boy," said André Morin.
Other people who live on the street said they never saw Frigault display aggressive behaviour, but said they are concerned that police were called at the very same house earlier in the day, when the accused called 911.
"We had a first 911 call at 2:30. Our officers were there with some social workers with Urgence Sociale and paramedics with Urgences-Santé. They evaluated someone and they acted upon the legal framework they had," Erika Landry, Laval police spokesperson, told CTV News.
The accused will return to court in January 2024.
POLICE WATCHDOG NOT INVESTIGATING
The Quebec police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), confirmed to CTV News that it has not opened an investigation into the police's handling of the case.
The BEI's mandate is to, among other things, investigate all cases in which a civilian dies during a police intervention.
"The BEI has been contacted by the Service de police de Laval. We have all the information we need to analyze the case," the watchdog wrote in an email.
"The BEI considers that the conditions and criteria of the law are not met in order to give it jurisdiction."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa has sold its stake in Air Canada: sources
Two senior federal government sources have confirmed to CTV News that the federal government has sold its stake in Air Canada.
Premiers disagree on whether Canada should cut off energy supply to U.S. if Trump moves ahead with tariffs
Some of Canada's premiers appeared to disagree with Ontario Premier Doug Ford on his approach to retaliatory measures, less than a day after he threatened to cut off the province's energy supply to the U.S. if president-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat of punishing tariffs.
'I recognize these footsteps': How Trump and 'coyote' smuggling changed life at the border
Bent signs bolted to the rail threaten fines and imprisonment should violators cross the boundary into the United States, a warning many people are choosing to ignore simply by walking around the barrier.
She took a DNA test for fun. Police used it to charge her grandmother with murder in a cold case
According to court documents, detectives reopened the cold case in 2017 and then worked with a forensics company to extract DNA from Baby Garnet's partial femur, before sending the results to Identifinders International.
McDonald's employee who called 911 in CEO's shooting is eligible for reward, but it will take time
More than 400 tips were called into the New York Police Department's Crime Stoppers tip line during the five-day search for a masked gunman who ambushed and fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week.
Man who set fires inside Calgary's municipal building lost testicle during arrest: ASIRT
Two Calgary police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in an incident that saw a suspect lose a testicle after being shot with an anti-riot weapon.
Country star Morgan Wallen sentenced in chair-throwing case
Country music star Morgan Wallen on Thursday pleaded guilty to two misdemeanour counts of reckless endangerment for throwing a chair from the rooftop of a six-storey bar in Nashville and nearly hitting two police officers with it.
Danielle Smith announces new team to patrol Alberta-U.S. border
Premier Danielle Smith says her government will create a team of specially-trained sheriffs tasked with patrolling the Alberta-U.S. border.
Ho ho, oh no: Man sought by police goes down chimney and gets stuck
A Massachusetts man trying to escape from police shimmied down the chimney. And got stuck.