Witnesses describe violent knife attack in alleged femicide near McGill University
WARNING: This story contains graphic details
MONTREAL -- Several people bore witness to the violent scene of a knife attack on a Montreal street Tuesday afternoon that left a 24-year-old woman dead.
The woman’s former roommate is facing first-degree murder charges in what police say is another case of domestic violence.
Romane Bonnier, a singer, artist and graduate of Marinanopolis College, was killed a block from McGill University's gates near the corner of Milton St. and Aylmer St., in the Milton Park neighbourhood.
“I was coming back from the dep,” said witness Tess Harris.
“I turned towards my house. A girl was walking towards me. And then, from behind, on the opposite side of the street, a man came and he attacked her and started stabbing her a bunch of times.”
The man allegedly pulled out a knife and "stabbed the woman several times in her upper body," said Montreal police spokesperson Raphael Bergeron.
Harris rushed inside to call 911, and then went back outside.
“He was just kneeled next to her and she looked dead and he started stabbing her a bunch more times,” said Harris.
Another witness, Atreyus Lewis, heard the commotion next to her apartment.
“I heard what he was saying to her, and her screaming. He was really angry at her and after he said, ‘I'm sorry, I’m sorry, I didn't want to do this,'” she said.
The young woman was rushed to hospital but died shortly after her arrival, Bergeron said.
Bergeron says the man was arrested near the scene. Police later explained that when they arrived, he was standing there, next to the woman, having made no attempt to flee.
Officers recovered the weapon and transported the man to a detention centre.
On Wednesday, Francois Pelletier, 36, of Greenfield Park was charged with first-degree murder. His lawyer entered a not-guilty plea. The case returns to court on Nov. 25.
Police say the two were once romantically linked.
Friends and former teachers told CTV News that Bonnier was an accomplished musician who sang in the Montreal Philharmonic Choir and was developing a career as a stage actress and performer.
On her YouTube channel, she posted videos of herself performing. The last was posted less than a week before her death.
She was described as kind, friendly and popular.
‘VERY DISTURBING’
A man who lives very close to the crime scene, on Aylmer, told CTV News that there were many students around at that time of day, leaving him rattled to think of them potentially witnessing the incident.
“I’ve been experiencing two events of violence in the past three days in Montreal, I think that’s too much. I’ve been living in this neighbourhood in the past 30 years and it’s the first time I see such police deployment," said Paul Marechal.
“It’s very disturbing.”
He said the brazen, daylight attack has left him shaken.
"How a man in his 30s could stab a young girl in her mid-20s -- it’s just unacceptable," he said of the allegation.
The intersection where the stabbing happened is not only near McGill and some of its student housing but is around the corner from a combined elementary and high school, F.A.C.E.
The woman's death is Montreal's 26th homicide of the year, coming one day after the 25th, another fatal stabbing in which a 16-year-old boy died outside his high school, with three teenage suspects still sought by police.
It is the 17th alleged femicide in Quebec in 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.