Quebec man charged in partner’s death

LA MALBAIE, Que. — The case of a 46-year-old Quebec man who was charged with murder on Tuesday in connection with his partner’s death is raising concerns once again about domestic violence in the province.

Eric Levasseur was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of his partner, Carolyne Labonte, who died in Quebec’s Charlevoix region last month.

Provincial police say the 40-year-old woman was found dead on March 18 at her home in Notre-Dame-des-Monts, 130 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

“Expertise at the scene, combined with the result of the autopsy and the result of the ballistics analysis, led to the conclusion that Carolyne Labonte was the victim of a homicide,” provincial police said in a statement.

Crown prosecutor Jimmy Simard confirmed Levasseur appeared in court in La Malbaie, Que., Tuesday morning via videoconference. The case returns to court May 5.

Simard said the suspect was arrested at a Montreal prison, where he was being detained on a weapons charge stemming from the same police investigation.

A lawyer representing Levasseur declined to comment.

Provincial police spokeswoman Beatrice Dorsainville confirmed Labonte and Levasseur were a couple who lived at the same address.

Victims’ advocates as well as Quebec’s deputy premier have raised the alarm about a spate of killings this year linked to domestic violence.

Labonte is at least the ninth woman to be killed in an alleged case of domestic violence in the province since the beginning of 2021.

Diane Neron, the director of a women’s shelter in La Malbaie, near where the victim lived, said she believes the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened a preexisting problem.

“Domestic violence is always there, but the pandemic exacerbated the characteristics associated with violence, such as isolation,” she said.

Neron said victims who live in smaller communities, such as the one where Labonte lived, might also be reluctant to come forward in a place where everyone knows each other.

While help for victims is available, she said she believes the government still needs to provide more funding for outreach and education programs that could help prevent future tragedies.

“This is a societal problem,” she said.