Hosea Amorus Puhya, who is the ex-husband of the 29-year-old woman stabbed to death Thursday morning in LaSalle, was charged with first-degree murder Friday at the Montreal courthouse.
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The 50-year-old suspect was taken to the detention center to be met by investigators, said Marie Allaire Morin of the Service de police de la Ville de Montreal.
The suspect is known to police circles and now turns out to be the victim’s former spouse, both of Cameroonian origin.
The 50-year-old was previously accused of domestic violence and the court forbade him to approach his ex-spouse or communicate with her.
As a reminder, the crime, of rare violence, occurred shortly before 9 a.m. in the parking lot of a residential building on rue des Oblats.
While the victim Gisèle Itale Betondi was busy installing her children in her vehicle, the assailant emerged to stab her several times, before fleeing.
The victim was transported in critical condition to a hospital where she succumbed to her serious injuries.
The murder of the young woman Thursday is considered the 22nd homicide to occur since the beginning of the year, according to an official count.
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