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
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Bayer recalls hydraSense baby product over 'potential contamination'
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.