An east-end man is to be charged today in the death of a 26-year-old woman found dead in his apartment early yesterday.
Montreal police say the victim was working as an escort and the 31-year-old man arrested yesterday was a client whom she had met very recently.
Police found the victim - identified as Julie Marcil, 26, by the Quebec coroner's office - about 4:20 a.m. when officers burst into the second-floor apartment above a day-care centre on St. Denis St. near St. Zotique St.
Marcil's friends had tried to call her on her cellular phone but she wasn't answering, which was unlike her.
A man and a woman described by police as either friends or co-workers of Marcil placed a 911 call after the man refused to open the door to them.
"They yelled and they broke a window to try to contact him, but he didn't move," said Constable Ian Lafrenière.
Officers from the local police station arrived moments later and broke down the door of the apartment.
Urgences Santé technicians tried to revive Marcil but were unsuccessful. She was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
Lafrenière said police found the man sitting on a sofa sipping a glass of water.
He seemed in a daze when arrested and was unco-operative with investigators, refusing to even give his name.
There were clear signs of a fight. Police confirmed there were marks on Marcil's neck. The man was treated in hospital for a burn on his arm and some other injuries.
An autopsy is scheduled for this week. Police found drugs inside the apartment, which they said may have played a part.
A woman who identified herself as a friend of the victim said Marcil had just met the man Monday night.
"She didn't know him at all," said Isabelle Paradis, who stopped briefly at the scene. "(Monday) was the first time she met him and she'd only been there a few hours.
"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have happened to any girl."
Police declined to identify the man, who they said does not have a criminal record.
Neighbours heard little and most didn't even notice the man who lived in the apartment.
"I wake up sometimes at night but I didn't hear anything," said Jean-Charles Hubert, a freelance news photographer who lives right next door. "I saw the police cars outside the door and I thought there might have been something happening at the day care."
Marcil's was the 28th homicide in Montreal this year. There were also 28 during the corresponding period in 2002.
Link:
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/story.asp?id=3BA21000-71E0-4E91-9D35-056A9F8010BC
Montreal police say the victim was working as an escort and the 31-year-old man arrested yesterday was a client whom she had met very recently.
Police found the victim - identified as Julie Marcil, 26, by the Quebec coroner's office - about 4:20 a.m. when officers burst into the second-floor apartment above a day-care centre on St. Denis St. near St. Zotique St.
Marcil's friends had tried to call her on her cellular phone but she wasn't answering, which was unlike her.
A man and a woman described by police as either friends or co-workers of Marcil placed a 911 call after the man refused to open the door to them.
"They yelled and they broke a window to try to contact him, but he didn't move," said Constable Ian Lafrenière.
Officers from the local police station arrived moments later and broke down the door of the apartment.
Urgences Santé technicians tried to revive Marcil but were unsuccessful. She was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
Lafrenière said police found the man sitting on a sofa sipping a glass of water.
He seemed in a daze when arrested and was unco-operative with investigators, refusing to even give his name.
There were clear signs of a fight. Police confirmed there were marks on Marcil's neck. The man was treated in hospital for a burn on his arm and some other injuries.
An autopsy is scheduled for this week. Police found drugs inside the apartment, which they said may have played a part.
A woman who identified herself as a friend of the victim said Marcil had just met the man Monday night.
"She didn't know him at all," said Isabelle Paradis, who stopped briefly at the scene. "(Monday) was the first time she met him and she'd only been there a few hours.
"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have happened to any girl."
Police declined to identify the man, who they said does not have a criminal record.
Neighbours heard little and most didn't even notice the man who lived in the apartment.
"I wake up sometimes at night but I didn't hear anything," said Jean-Charles Hubert, a freelance news photographer who lives right next door. "I saw the police cars outside the door and I thought there might have been something happening at the day care."
Marcil's was the 28th homicide in Montreal this year. There were also 28 during the corresponding period in 2002.
Link:
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/story.asp?id=3BA21000-71E0-4E91-9D35-056A9F8010BC