Marc-André Grenon seemed to live a solitary life in Granby, while his arrest for the murder of Guylaine Potvin on Wednesday caused consternation in his neighborhood.
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“You don’t expect to see this anywhere near you, usually it’s just business on TV or in movies.” It’s not reassuring, let’s say, ”testified Sylvain Boyer, who lives in the same duplex as the alleged murderer.
Investigators and crime scene technicians stayed a good part of the day Wednesday in the apartment of the 47-year-old man located on rue Laval Sud, in Granby, in search of evidence.
According to our information, Grenon was not a tenant of the place, but he had been renting a room there for about two years.
“I was fine, but no longer there, […] we have nothing to say, thank you,” said the owner of the place, before hanging up.
“Someone quite quiet”
The neighbors met by The newspaper had little to say about the suspect, they who had virtually no contact with him.
“He was a loner. I saw him take a walk from time to time, but I did not speak to him,” said a woman who has lived in her apartment for 18 years.
“He seemed to me to be a fairly quiet person and not a problem. I didn’t get to know him very well,” said his upstairs neighbor.
Severed ties with his family
Grenon had had no contact with members of his family for several years. “It’s very traumatic to hear this today despite the fact that we no longer had contact,” said a member of her extended family.
The accused has often changed his place of residence over the years, having accumulated several criminal records between 1993 and 2002 (see box opposite).
It was not possible to know how long he had resided in Granby.
He benefited from the services of the organization l’Autre Versant, which helps people with mental health problems, and frequented Alcoholics Anonymous.
According to our information, he was in the interrogation room for long hours on Wednesday.
– With the collaboration of Camille Payant, Le Journal de Montreal, and Ian Gemme, Investigation office