“You have to be in this field to understand the energy that goes into the team solving a murder. Even 30 years later, just talking about it, I have the same feeling as I did then, I remember the focus we had on finding the person who did this.
• Also read: Murder of Marie-Chantale Desjardins: A suspect is caught almost 30 years later
Michel Tanguay was one of the investigators who worked hard to solve the sordid murder of Marie-Chantale Desjardins.
The 10-year-old girl was found lifeless in a wooded area in Rosemère. It wasn't until three decades later that the police were able to arrest a suspect, Réal Courtemanche.
Marie-Chantale Desjardins, 10 years old, died in July 1994. Archive photo
The retired Sûreté du Québec police officer was not the lead investigator in the case, but recalls being tasked with solving the crime. Even after the crime scene was cleared, he had to go to the crime scene.
Michel Tanguay, retired investigator in the Sûreté du Québec archive photo
Mr. Tanguay has been involved in more than 300 murder investigations, sometimes as a lead investigator and sometimes as an assistant.
“I have experienced them all”
“I haven’t worked on all of them, but I’ve experienced them all,” he says.
In his opinion, cases involving children are certainly the most significant.
“It is above all the pain of those left behind that makes it most difficult,” adds Roberto Bergeron, who also left the SQ. The one who has worked on sensitive cases such as the disappearance of Julie Surprenant and the murder of little Alexandre Livernoche insists: investigators with unsolved cases do everything they can to give answers to relatives.
“The goal is of course to find the perpetrator, but above all it's about finding out the truth,” adds retired Montreal detective François Petit, who has worked on unsolved murder cases.
Even if investigators arrest a suspect 30 years later, he said it would still be a great reward for the police officers who worked on the case at the time.
“They processed hundreds of pieces of information, met several people and were able to see the result of their work,” he explains.
No failures
In addition, for Roberto Bergeron, the cases in which no suspect could be arrested are not failures in his eyes.
Roberto Bergeron Photo Chantal Poirier
“I don't want to say we failed because we did what we could at the time. And it is very satisfying to know that others have succeeded today,” he emphasizes.
Thanks to technological progress, several unsolved murder cases have also been solved.
“With the techniques that have evolved, it will be possible to move cases forward and give families the opportunity to grieve,” adds retired SQ police officer François Doré.
And in his opinion, this allows police officers to close cases that can become emotional.
“We know that investigators keep photos of missing children or unsolved murders on their desk or in their wallet,” he says.
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