In a scathing report towards the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and its management, the deputy chief coroner, Luc Malouin, points out the numerous screw-ups which undermined the chances of finding alive the sisters Norah and Romy Carpentier, killed by their father, Martin , in July 2020 following a pileup on Highway 20.
Not only did the SQ take too long to grasp the urgency of the situation in the hours following the disappearance of the two sisters on the evening of July 8, 2020, but its research was not “carried out according to the rules of art” subsequently.
“Too little, too late”: these are the four words that the coroner uses to describe the ground search operation carried out by the Sûreté du Québec. In his report, he invites the management of the SQ to examine its conscience.
From the first hours following the disappearance of the sisters and their father, “all resources should have been put in place to carry out the investigation”, he adds. However, failures and delays punctuated these critical moments when the two little girls, according to the chronology established in the coroner, were still buried in a thick wooded area of Saint-Apollinaire, alive alongside their father overcome by panic.
The day after the disappearance of the trio, underlines the coroner in his report, “we lost time before starting the search and it was not carried out according to the rules of the art. In addition, there were insufficient numbers to continue the research later. More than a third of the day was lost due to poor planning.”
Luc Malouin blames the SQ for having gone “it alone” in its research, only seeking help from the Quebec City Police Department, which nevertheless has a team dedicated to field research, only “for surveillance using patrol officers to verify an address.”
This request, notes the coroner, was made on July 10 at midday, more than 36 hours after the disappearance of the Carpentiers – at the time when the father had already killed his daughters, according to the chronology of the report.
“However, it was possible to use partners to find missing staff. But again, how come the police hierarchy never thought to ask for this help? asks Luc Malouin. Did we have “organizational pride” ? »
The wildlife protection agency itself had to intervene with the office of the Minister of Public Security on July 16 to involve its teams and dog handlers.
“All in all, the SQ chose, for whatever reason, to go it alone,” observes Luc Malouin. The strategic choices of the leaders certainly harmed the smooth running of the research, because we cannot rule out the fact that rapid mobilization could have changed the course of things. […] The police hierarchy must seriously question its emergency intervention model and take note of the problems experienced in this case in order to avoid such a situation in the future. »
“The accident is the tipping point”
According to the deputy chief coroner, Martin Carpentier had no intention of ending his children’s lives by going to have ice cream with them on the evening of July 8. It was the involuntary loss of control of the vehicle that plunged the trio into a tragedy from which no one escaped alive.
“I believe that the accident was the tipping point that caused Mr. Carpentier to panic and his irrational fear of losing his daughters,” writes Luc Malouin. In his panic, he fled with his daughters and it was only over the following hours, gradually realizing the untenable situation in which he had placed himself, that the idea of killing his daughters before to end his life eventually came to him. »
An operation carried out more smoothly would perhaps have changed nothing in the disastrous fate of the two children. However, notes the deputy chief coroner, “the chances of finding them safe and sound would have been maximized”.