A Quebec man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of a 10-year-old girl in a northern Montreal suburb more than 31 years ago, bringing closure to the young victim’s family.
Réal Courtemanche, 62, who is already in prison for other crimes, admitted Friday that the evidence in the case proves beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered Marie-Chantale Desjardins.
The 10-year-old girl disappeared on July 16, 1994, after leaving a friend’s house at the end of the day in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, northwest of Montreal. Her body was found four days later in the woods behind a shopping center in the neighboring community of Rosemère.
Desjardins’ murder remained a cold case until Courtemanche’s arrest in prison in 2023, thanks to advances in DNA analysis.
The victim’s mother, Sylvie Desjardins, addressed the court in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, in an emotional message addressed to Courtemanche. She said she felt immense pain but also enough strength and love to speak on behalf of her murdered daughter and tell her how her actions took her daughter away from her family.
He later spoke to reporters outside the courtroom. “It really closes the circle, closes a 31-year journey,” he said. “Marie-Chantale can now rest in peace.”
Quebec provincial police arrested Courtemanche at the La Macaza institution in the Laurentians region of Quebec in December 2023.
The Crown and defense suggested that Courtemanche be given the maximum sentence for second-degree murder: life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Typically, for second-degree murder convictions, time served before becoming eligible for parole can range from a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 25 years.
Quebec Superior Court Judge Hélène Di Salvo took the recommendation into consideration and will issue a ruling on November 10.
Courtemanche, who has racked up several dozen convictions since 1981, was declared a dangerous offender in 2015 and given an indeterminate sentence, which has no set end date, following his conviction for kidnapping a woman and assaulting her with a knife.
“Neither age, the passage of time, the accumulation of sanctions and prison terms, nor supervision or surveillance measures have led the accused to change his criminal behavior, which is often violent and impulsive towards others,” wrote Quebec court judge Jacques Trudel in his May 2015 decision declaring Courtemanche a dangerous offender.
That ruling noted that since 1981, Courtemanche had been convicted of 89 criminal offenses, including 28 breaches of court orders and 10 counts of criminal trespass. Trudel said Courtemanche was linked to at least 12 cases involving the use of violence or threats of violence.
At that time his responsibility in the murder of Desjardins was unknown.
