NOTRE-DAME-DES-PRAIRIES, QUE. – A heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded in Quebec as a man, accused of killing his two three-year-old sons before taking his own life, had reportedly been arrested for harassing the children’s mother just days prior, according to a friend of the suspect.
The lifeless bodies of Ian Lamontagne, 46, and his two young boys, Antoine and Tristan Lamontagne, aged three, were discovered in Notre-Dame-des-Prairies, Que., located northeast of Montreal, on a fateful Saturday.
Quebec provincial police have chosen to remain tight-lipped about the case as of Monday. However, Patrick Boucher, a close friend of Lamontagne for six years, disclosed that the suspect had been arrested on Wednesday for allegedly harassing the mother of his children. Boucher further stated that Lamontagne was subsequently released shortly after his apprehension.
Boucher recounted, “What he told me is that he got arrested for criminal harassment while he was heading to his former partner’s place.”
Audrey Roy-Cloutier, a spokeswoman for Quebec’s prosecution service, reported that her agency possesses no information concerning Lamontagne’s arrest. Nevertheless, an insider at the prosecutor’s office, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that when an individual is arrested and released with a promise to appear in court, their case file typically remains with the police until the investigation concludes. In such cases, it’s customary for the police to forward the file to prosecutors once the inquiry reaches completion.
Although Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, was notified of the case by provincial police, it has decided not to investigate, deeming the deaths outside the scope of its mandate.
In response to the tragic incident, a spokeswoman for Quebec Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel declined to provide any comments.
Boucher, grappling with the profound sorrow stemming from the murder of innocent children, decried it as a “horrible, unacceptable, unforgivable act.” He expressed his desire for discussions surrounding these three lives lost to shift towards understanding how a person who loves their children can tragically transition from a state of affection to causing harm to their own offspring.
He posed the poignant question, “How can we transform this event into something more?” Boucher underscored the importance of learning how to react and support friends who may be encountering difficulties of their own.
Suzanne Dauphin, the Mayor of Notre-Dame-des-Prairies, conveyed her community’s profound shock and the immense pain left in its wake. She emphasized that this tragedy serves as a stark reminder that mental health issues can affect anyone. Dauphin encouraged people to care for their loved ones and be attentive to signs of psychological distress as a means to prevent such heartrending incidents.