Already imprisoned for non-compliance with conditions, it was by videoconference that Keven Deblois was formally accused of the murder of Karine Bélanger, whose charred body was found in a burnt-out car on September 25.
• Read also: Calcined body in Beauce: “I will never accept that”, rages the victim’s mother
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The 24-year-old man, accustomed to court appearances given his heavy background, did not seem shaken by the short appearance where he was nevertheless charged with five serious counts, including that of second degree murder of his wife, Karine Belanger.
Deblois was also charged with contempt of a corpse, arson, car theft and credit card theft (see other text).
Photo taken from Keven Deblois’ Facebook account
The accused Keven Deblois was arrested Thursday when he was already at the Quebec City Detention Center. We see him with Karine Bélanger, some time before the murder of the woman.
On parole
On September 25, a Dodge Ram pickup truck was set on fire in an isolated field in Saint-Bernard-de-Beauce.
The accused had been arrested a few days later for not respecting his conditions, while he had been on parole since July and that he had in particular not presented himself at his halfway house, as required .
It was therefore from the Quebec City detention center that the man appeared. The cold-eyed accused said “yes” three times when Judge Annie Trudel asked him if he understood the details of the proceedings.
Killed before the fire?
Photo Nicolas Saillant
DPCP prosecutor Me Annik Arbor for the Keven Deblois file.
The second-degree murder charge that allegedly took place on “September 24 or September 25, 2022” suggests that the murder of the 36-year-old victim occurred before the theft and burning of the vehicle in the corn field of Saint-Bernard.
In this regard, the prosecutor explained why the murder charge was one of second degree murder.
“First degree murder requires premeditation, deliberate intent, which is not required for second degree murder,” said Me Annik Arbour.
Keven Deblois remains detained and will return to court for form on December 8.
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Their vehicle stolen an hour before being set on fire
The owners of the van in which the body of Karine Bélanger was found charred had their vehicle stolen while they were shopping in a business in Sainte-Marie. An hour later, the car was set on fire in a field.
France Remillard is closely following the progress of the investigation into the feminicide that took place in Beauce on September 25, and for good reason (see other text). It was his vehicle that was set on fire after it was probably stolen by Keven Deblois.
Photo taken from Facebook
France Remillard, owner of the stolen vehicle.
“Shattering”
“It’s overwhelming,” says Ms. Remillard, a mother of several children.
Indirectly involved in this drama, she admits to having slept badly during the last days thinking of the atrocious end of the victim.
That day, the small family that lives in Sainte-Claire in Bellechasse was in Sainte-Marie after going to store their trailer for the winter.
Stopping at the Yellow shoe store in Sainte-Marie to buy winter boots, France Remillard came out of the store when she found an empty space where her husband had parked their 2015 Dodge Ram.
“We left the store, Poof! Nothing. We just stayed 10 minutes in the store. It was 1:47 p.m., “says the lady, adding that the car was locked.
A witness present on the other side of the street later indicated having seen a man prowling around the truck, giving the description of an individual with a beard corresponding to that of the suspect Keven Deblois.
In St. Bernard
Ms. Remillard quickly called the police and canceled the credit card that had remained in the car. However, it was around 3 p.m., while the couple was still in the company of the police, that they learned that their car had been set on fire in a field in Saint-Bernard about 20 minutes from where they were.