POLICE PLEAD FOR ALL TIPS
Ten years since teen killed
In a bid for new tips in the murder of Valérie Leblanc, Gatineau police set up a command post Monday, 10 years to the day after the 18-yearold's body was found in the woods west of the Cégep de l'Outaouais.
Since then, the force has been “unrelenting” in its hunt for the person or persons responsible for the “heinous” crime which shocked all of Gatineau, police said Monday in a news release.
Anyone with information was asked to go and meet with investigators.
Even the smallest detail could help investigators crack the case, said Cynthia Lauzon, a communications officer with the Gatineau police, who said she hoped the command post would prompt locals to come forward with new information.
“It could seem insignificant for a civilian,” she said, “but a detail could corroborate a piece of information, so for us it could be important for the investigation.”
Lauzon urged local residents or anyone who was in the area near the crime scene, behind the CEGEP de l'Outaouais's Gabrielle-Roy campus, to come forward.
“People shouldn't hesitate to get into contact with us because every piece of information matters,” Lauzon said, “and it can't be taken for granted that the information has already been communicated to the police.
“It could be that we have never had it, so don't keep it to yourself. Let the police do their work.”
The command post was scheduled to be in the parking lot at 331 de la Cité-des-Jeunes Blvd. between 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Police are still trying to find the unidentified “key witness” depicted in a composite drawing released shortly after the homicide.
Police have received nearly 2,200 tips from the public, and investigators have met with several hundred people since Leblanc's body was found on Aug. 23, 2011.
While her body showed multiple signs of violence and burns, her death was due to blunt force trauma to the head, police said.
Anyone who can't go in person to the command post can call 819243-4636 ext. 1 or fill out a form at police.gatineau.ca. Tips will be kept in confidence, police said.
A $10,000 reward is offered by Jeunesse au Soleil for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the homicide.
Gatineau police believe now may be the right time for old witnesses to offer new evidence.
“There was a lot of young adults between 18 and 20 who were in the area,” Lauzon said. “Now that 10 years have gone by, people have gotten a generation older and are maybe ready now to give information, and that's why we're asking people to go through their memories and that little detail that you kept to yourself for 10 years, well, we invite you to communicate it to us.”
In the days after her body was found, Leblanc was remembered in the pages of the Citizen as a kind, smiling girl who wanted to become a police officer. She enjoyed studying languages, including Spanish and German, and frequently struck up conversations with anyone, radiating an energy that uplifted those around her, according to her family.