What looks like the first feminicide of the year would have occurred Friday evening in Dunham, in Estrie.
Patrizia Rao, 59, and Frédérick-Lynn Blair, 63, were found dead in a residence on Lasnier Street in Dunham.
The agents of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) had been dispatched to the scene around 5:15 p.m., following a call reporting a “person in crisis”.
The police presence in her street and on her land alerted Lucie Cabana, a neighbor for almost five years of Patrizia Rao and Frédérick-Lynn Blair.
A few hours following the tragedy, she was still in shock.
“The couple were nice. […] I saw [M. Blair] Thursday. Everything seemed to be going well,” she says.
The SQ is still investigating the circumstances of the tragedy, but the tragedy has all the appearances of a feminicide followed by a suicide, according to spokesperson Stéphane Tremblay.
Difficult to understand
“I never thought it was going to happen, a case like that,” says Mme Cabana au Journal.
This tragedy comes as last year, Quebec mourned 26 women killed, the majority of them in a marital context.
“The beginning of the year was quieter than last year. I had hope. But unfortunately, we can see that domestic violence continues to wreak havoc,” said Lucie Riendeau, spokesperson for the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victims de violence conjugale.
According to her, it is essential to train suicide prevention workers so that they ask the meaningful question “Do you intend to bring someone with you?” “.
“In recent feminicides, there have been several such situations. We must alert the stakeholders so that we never miss this question, ”says Ms.me Riendeau.
The SQ is still investigating the circumstances of the tragedy, but the tragedy might look like femicide followed by suicide, according to spokesperson Stéphane Tremblay.
– With QMI Agency
♦ Manon Boisvert was the first woman killed in 2022, in unclear circumstances. The murder of the 54-year-old lady remains unsolved to this day.
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