Burned car, violent threats, major police mobilization: Patrick Archambault, a man from Sainte-Julienne who allegedly ended his life after allegedly killing his wife Josée Barriault, was a real time bomb, according to the neighborhood. The 46-year-old scared the neighborhood to the point where several citizens demanded that he be watched.
Sarah Deschênes’ family has kept a baseball bat by the front door at all times for several years. The occupants of the house neighboring that of Patrick Archambault feared this man with impulsive and violent behavior, recounts the woman in a poignant letter she sent to the Coroner’s Office in the days following the tragedy, calling for an in-depth investigation into “foreseeable” events.
A big scare
In August 2017, Sarah Deschênes and her children were evacuated by the police from their home in Sainte-Julienne, in Lanaudière.
The officers then have reason to believe that Mr. Archambault, a man with multiple criminal records, is armed. “They wanted to avoid a hostage-taking in the event of resistance at the time of the arrest”, explains Mr.me Deschênes in a message addressed to the Coroner’s Office and which she forwarded to The Press.
The little family then takes refuge with a neighbour. The wife of the time of Patrick Archambault would have been “savagely beaten”, explains the neighbor to them.
Patrick returns home a few days later.
This arrest marked the imagination of my children. From then on, we were careful to keep our distance from Patrick.
Sarah Deschênes, in her letter to the coroner
Two years later, Mr. Archambault broke into her home drunk. He apologizes for having scared them and assures that he means them no harm.
It is also a few steps from his land that the inert body of Josée Barriault was found last April. According to the police’s hypothesis, the couple violently attacked each other that day. Josée Barriault, seriously injured, would have left the home. Patrick Archambault would have committed suicide.
The same neighbor who had taken in the family told him in the winter of 2019 that he had found a former spouse of Patrick in the entrance, bloody. It was about a year before he met Josée Barriault. ” The fact that [ce voisin] took in the spouse caused great animosity between the two men. Following this event, Patrick happened to show up with his Great Dane at [le voisin]in the middle of the night, dressed as an army commando,” the woman explained in her letter to the coroner.
Things take a turn for the worse in June 2020: the family gets up one morning and finds that Mr. Archambault’s car is on fire. “We were awakened by the sound of an explosion. […] As it was a period of great drought, we made sure to be ready to evacuate at any time in the event of the spread of the fire,” says Ms.me Deschênes in his letter. His spouse goes to the other side of Patrick Archambault’s house and advises him that his car is on fire, that he must get out. ” Go away ! I have guns, I have grenades! “replies the latter, screaming. He had to be dragged out of the house by the police to allow firefighters to bring the blaze under control.
Terrified neighbors, powerless authorities
Several neighbors have mobilized for Patrick to be placed in a supervised apartment, reports Sarah Deschênes. His slippages, probably caused by problems of consumption, terrify the residents of the peaceful district. ” [Une voisine] explained to the police and social services that Patrick was not only threatening the safety of his spouses, but also that of his fellow citizens and that he had to be subject to closer surveillance because a serious event was likely to occur. day”, recalls Mme Deschênes in interview. The authorities reply that they can do nothing “until nothing serious happens”, she wrote in her letter.
Several neighbors have left the area.
We also considered doing this [déménager], but as it was only a second home, we had the advantage of not being at the forefront of Patrick’s recurring violence. But we were afraid.
Sarah Deschênes, in her letter to the coroner
The man was quite capable of killing one of his spouses when he slipped, he no longer saw clearly and lost control, thinks Sarah Deschênes then. “We now slept with a baseball bat within reach and we had bought a dog to defend ourselves. We were collateral victims of Patrick’s violence. »
“Preventable” deaths
“These deaths, in my opinion and several of the people who knew Patrick, were avoidable because foreseeable”, continues Mme Deschênes in his letter to the coroner.
The man was probably not bad, she believes.
[Patrick Archambault] needed specialized help, help that he did not get, that he probably did not want to receive elsewhere.
Sarah Deschênes, in her letter to the coroner
Quebec was hit by a disturbing wave of feminicides in 2021. “We immediately thought of Patrick. We knew that one day we could read that he had killed one of his spouses, ”laments Ms.me Deschenes. Her husband and she learned last April in the news that a tragedy occurred in Sainte-Julienne on the street where the suspect lived. “He did it,” the couple automatically said to themselves.
Lack of prevention
“In our eyes, the death of Josée Barriault was an announced death,” explains Ms.me Deschênes in interview with The Press.
In her letter sent to the Coroner’s Office, she wonders in particular about the foreseeable aspect of the two deaths. “How is it that we, who are only distant witnesses, already knew that one day the worst could happen? »
There is a cruel lack in the system for violent men who are repeat offenders, she judges. Everything is put on the shoulders of the family or loved ones. And women are paying the price.
“They are sometimes incarcerated for a period of time and then released. And so on. A waltz that sometimes leads to someone’s death, ”says the neighbor.
The story so far
1er april
The Sûreté du Québec locates Patrick Archambault, seriously injured, at his home in Sainte-Julienne, in Lanaudière. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital the next day.
April 2
His spouse Josée Barriault is found dead outside, a few steps from the house.
End of June
According to the hypothesis of the authorities revealed to the family months later, Patrick Archambault would have killed his spouse, then would have ended his life. The man had a long criminal history, including three domestic violence cases. The police had already intervened with the suspect in the past.
A worrying case
The case of Patrick Archambault and Josée Barriault had “many warning signs,” said Louise Riendeau, from the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victims de violence conjugale. The tragedy occurred when the accommodation resources are running out of space, she argues.
“Many stakeholders have been made aware [de la situation]. It will be interesting to see if the coroner’s report will give rise to many recommendations, ”she drops. Without commenting on the case of M.me Barriault, she admits that the confidence of victims of violence in the justice system is crumbling. “When you are faced with an individual who does not take into account the orders imposed on him, he is someone who can be dangerous. Shelters for abused women are overflowing, particularly in Montreal and the Outaouais, adds Ms.me Riendeau.
“That this woman hasn’t found any resources doesn’t surprise me. Funding remains insufficient, even though, according to her, the needs are crying out. “We are running out of places. This year, funding is being requested for four more houses. »