Suspect, 19, in three homicides in Rosemont to appear in court Saturday

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Charges could be filed Saturday against the 19-year-old man arrested Friday at the scene of a family tragedy in the Rosemont district of Montreal. The man was to appear by telephone in the morning before the Court of Quebec.

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The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) now confirms that the three bodies discovered Friday morning in a dwelling on Bélanger St. were the third, fourth and fifth homicide victims on the island of Montreal in 2023.

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“Major-crime investigators confirm that these are three homicides. The three victims are a 53-year-old woman, a 75-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man. There is a family link between the victims and the suspect,” said agent Caroline Chèvrefils, a spokesperson for the SPVM, on Saturday morning.

As for the suspect, the SPVM indicated that he had no criminal record.

“The charges will be determined by the DPCP,” Chèvrefils said.

The arrest of this man, who was covered in blood, outside the duplex for sale was filmed by witnesses and was broadcast on social networks and by certain media.

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The police had discovered inside the building the bodies of the three victims, bearing traces of violence, “possibly caused by a sharp object”, said another spokesperson for the SPVM, Julien Lévesque.

The crime scene was the subject of a large security perimeter. Several police vehicles were at the scene and a command post was established. Neighbors were also questioned.

Employees and patients who had to go to the Montreal Heart Institute, located opposite the crime scene, were asked to go to the establishment by another access than its main entrance.

In a press briefing in his riding of L’Assomption on Friday, Premier François Legault said that it was a “really disturbing” situation.

Asked about the number of fatal tragedies in the past few weeks, Legault did not want to comment on the case in Rosemont, but he underlined that everywhere in the world there are problems related to mental health.

The premier reiterated his commitment to increase the amount reserved for mental health in the provincial budget, which will be presented next week.