Police find body believed to be Yvon Lacasse
The Sûreté du Québec said Wednesday they found a body investigators believe is that of a missing 71-year-old man connected to last week’s Amber Alert case.
Sgt. Claude Denis said an autopsy will be conducted in order to determine if it is Yvon Lacasse, who hasn’t been seen since his car was stolen Thursday night in Lachute.
A six-year-old boy who had gone missing in Quebec was found safe on Friday inside Lacasse’s vehicle in eastern Ontario.
Ugo Fredette has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of the child’s mother.
Denis said police found the body of a man in Arundel, 100 kilometres northwest of Montreal, after several days of searching.
“All signs point to it possibly belonging to Mr. Lacasse,” Denis said. “But there will be an autopsy and the body’s identification has to be done to the satisfaction of the coroner.”
Officers used ground forces, canine units and a helicopter to retrace the trip made by the suspect through Quebec to find Lacasse. Denis said investigators received a tip that led them to Arundel.
Police issued the Amber Alert after the boy’s mother was found dead last Thursday in a home in St-Eustache.
About 24 hours later, Ontario Provincial Police stopped Lacasse’s stolen vehicle near Renfrew, Ont., and arrested Fredette, 41.
He is hospitalized in Ottawa following an alleged suicide attempt.
A Quebec Superior Court judge has ordered a medical evaluation of his ability to appear in court to face a charge of second-degree murder.
Fredette had been scheduled to appear in court in St-Jérôme Wednesday on those charges in connection with the death of Véronique Barbe, who was found dead in her St-Eustache home last Thursday. That discovery led police to issue an Amber Alert to find the couple’s six-year-old son, who is in protective custody in Quebec.
Fredette’s court appearance was postponed until next Wednesday. Quebec Superior Court Judge Martin Castonguay said it is imperative that there be a medical report detailing his state of health at that point.
The judge accepted the request from Fredette’s lawyer, Pierre M. Gauthier, and the Crown lawyer, Aryanne Guérin, did not object.
Earlier this week, while police were searching for Lacasse, Scott Pearce, the mayor of the Laurentian town of Gore, where Lacasse lives, described him as “one of the friendliest, most polite community-minded people that I know.”
When word spread that Lacasse was missing, several town councillors and firefighters searched the woods around the town.
Yves St-Denis, MNA for the Argenteuil riding and Lacasse’s second cousin, said: “It’s very sad. He is a nice man and he probably saw a man in need and tried to help him.”