A father believed to have killed his two young children in Quebec’s Lanaudière region had been arrested and released by provincial police two days prior to the incident, a longtime friend of the family tells Radio-Canada.
Ianik Lamontagne, 46, and three-year-olds Antoine and Tristan, whom sources identified as the deceased, were found dead in a Notre-Dame-des-Prairies residence on Saturday. Police are investigating the case as a double murder-suicide.
Patrick Boucher said Lamontagne called him to vent last Wednesday, saying he had been arrested in front of his children for harassing his estranged wife — the children’s mother — from whom he’d been separated about a year.
Boucher says Lamontagne was released the same day of his arrest — two days before he and his sons were found dead.
“I wanted to see him because of the arrest and I wanted to make sure he was OK,” said Boucher, adding he was shaken by the tragedy.
Among neighbours, there is still shock and disbelief. Natalie Taylor, who lives steps away from the residence where the bodies were found, says she heard a blood curdling cry on Saturday. She believes it was the boys’ mother in distress.
“We never think we’re going to go through this. We see it on the news, but elsewhere, not here,” she said of her generally peaceful community.
In a statement, Notre-Dame-des-Prairies Mayor Suzanne Dauphin said it’s difficult to understand and accept the news that two innocent young lives were lost, adding that the incident highlights the importance of watching out for others’ mental health.
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) is continuing its investigation in order to understand the circumstances that led to this event.
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