The tragic death of Alexandra Martine Diengo Lumbayi, a Congolese student at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières, caused a wave of sympathy… and misinformation. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance raise doubts that the local police force seeks to dispel.
The young baccalaureate student was last seen when she left her home on October 2. One of his roommates took him back to Saint-Quentin Island, a tourist area in Trois-Rivières.
It was he who reported the disappearance two days later, worried at not having any news.
After police searches, citizen searches, and the intervention of the Sûreté du Québec, it was finally a kayaker who made the macabre discovery.
The body is identified as that of Alexandra Martine. The condition of the remains does not immediately allow us to rule on the sequence of events or to rule whether there are traces of violence.
Except that the rumors are going wild on the Internet and in the Congolese community here and abroad. She is the victim of a murder, it is believed, without providing evidence.
“It seems that the roommates are being targeted by death threats,” indicates Trois-Rivières police spokesperson (SPTR) Luc Mongrain. THE Duty was unable to contact these roommates to confirm this information.
However, the SPTR Facebook page has since been buried under false accusations. The body was allegedly found tied up — which is false. Ditto for the suspicions surrounding the roommates in question.
The two roommates of the deceased “were completely transparent,” says the SPTR spokesperson. “From the outset, we are able to exclude these people from any links with the death. »
The theory of suicide is not conceivable for many people of Congolese origin, he says. “Many people expect to a criminal outcome. » That said, without wanting to point towards one hypothesis or another, the police will await the conclusions of the pathologists before communicating further on this sad affair.
A shock wave
Voluntary or involuntary, the death of the 21-year-old young woman caused a shock wave in the university community of nearly 15,000 students in Trois-Rivières, 3,326 of whom come from abroad.
“Especially the Congolese community, but also the entire community of international students work together to support each other,” says Jean-François Hinse, interim director of the communications department at UQTR. “She’s one of us. »
A candlelight vigil took place solemnly on Wednesday evening. Help psychological was also made available to certain students shaken by the news.
UQTR takes care to reassure its students to inform them that this psychological support is as accessible as it is confidential.
“International students are less familiar with our service. Going to see a psychologist is sometimes frowned upon,” he says.
Whether now or later, the door is open, “We may be in shock right now. But, if we feel the need in 3 weeks or 3 months, we are there for you. »
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.