A young construction worker involved in a love triangle was allegedly killed by his friend and ex-business partner while his roommate was snoozing in the next room, in their Blainville apartment.
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“I was sleeping. I heard two clear shots, but it was like a dream. I opened my eyes, then I heard nothing else. I thought it was a joke from Maxime, I didn’t think that was happening [un meurtre]“, said the roommate, David Lemaire.
He testified today at the jury trial of Simon Décarie, 29 years old. He is accused of the premeditated murder of his friend, Maxime Villeneuve. The two also had a roofing business together.
The accused, Simon Décarie.
Courtesy
A love triangle story would be at the heart of the crime, according to the Crown’s theory. The 27-year-old young man had just started a relationship with Décarie’s ex-girlfriend. On October 6, 2021, he allegedly asked his friend for forgiveness by text message before being killed.
Shocked
That evening, after being awakened by what turned out to be gunshots around 11 p.m., everything happened very quickly for David Lemaire. He heard his roommate Maxime Villeneuve’s cell phone ringing non-stop. By the time he got up to check, the police were arriving at his apartment on 61e avenue de Blainville.
The Sûreté du Québec investigated the scene where Maxime Villeneuve was killed on October 6, 2021, in Blainville.
Maxime Deland / QMI Agency
“I shouted “Police, police!” twice. I see a person coming down the steps, hands in sight. He was super collaborative,” explained Sergeant Véronique Tremblay of the Blainville police yesterday.
She responded to the call with two other patrol officers. Neighbors had alerted 911 after hearing three gunshots and seeing a small vehicle “running away quickly”.
“I’m a bit in shock, I don’t know what’s going on. [La police] asked me who else was in the house. I pointed at my roommate, that’s when I realized he was on the ground. I saw his feet, the rest of his body,” explained David Lemaire.
He was then taken into the patrol vehicle, where he was taken into custody for investigation.
“I asked him to show me his hands. There was no presence of blood or injury. On his entire body, there was no trace of blood or injury,” Loïc Riel, who was at the time a patrolman with the Blainville police, testified yesterday.
Taken to the station
The young man was then taken to the police station, where he was questioned.
In addition to being a friend of the victim, Maxime Villeneuve, Mr. Lemaire had worked for his company as a roofer. He also knew the accused in this case, Simon Décarie, since childhood because he was his neighbor at the time.
The trial will continue tomorrow at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse.