(Quebec) Quebec police are appealing to the public to help them resolve their first homicide investigation of the year, that of the death of a 42-year-old woman, found in her house engulfed in flames in night from Saturday to Sunday.
Who killed Joëlle Lapointe? This is the question that has obsessed several investigators from the Quebec City Police Service (SPVQ) for the past 48 hours. It was passers-by who alerted the police around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Firefighters who arrived on the scene noticed that a fire was ravaging the basement of 98 Johnny-Parent Boulevard, in the Loretteville district. A car is in the parking lot, suggesting someone is in the house. When firefighters found the woman, she was unconscious. His death will be pronounced on site.
“Today, considering all the information collected on the scene over the past two days, the investigation tends to demonstrate that Joëlle Lapointe, 42, was the victim of a homicide,” revealed a spokesperson for the SPVQ on Tuesday, David Poitras.
PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK
Joëlle Lapointe in a photo from 2015.
Sergeant Poitras did not want to give details about the crime scene. It is impossible to know if the police found accelerants at the scene or if the woman bore signs of violence. The autopsy has not yet been done.
The SPVQ also refuses to say which theory is favored by the investigators. Is this femicide? Is this a war-related murder committed by factions of organized crime?
“We are not able to assess whether one thesis or the other takes precedence. When we are able to provide a possible thesis to perhaps reassure the population, we will do it,” notes the spokesperson, who specifies, however, that Mr.me Lapointe was not known to the police.
According to the Quebec City property assessment register, the woman owned the house where she was found. So she was at home.
To resolve the impasse, the police are appealing to the public. “We are appealing to the population to obtain as much information as possible. There may be people who have information on what happened on February 25, but also information on Mme Lapointe, indicates Sergeant Poitras. Maybe this little piece of information can help our investigation move forward. »
Police invite people with information to go directly to 98, boulevard Johnny-Parent or to call 418-641-AGIR.