The mother of Karine Bélanger, whose body was found in a burned-out vehicle in Beauce on September 25, cannot explain why the alleged killer was released from prison just weeks before the tragedy, he who has a heavy violent past.
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“They knew it was a very dangerous case. They let him go the same way. You put him in transition. Something was missing. It was my daughter who went there,” tearfully laments Linda Arseneault, the victim’s mother, who has urged her to be careful.
“I went up to Karine and told her, ‘He looks like a psychopath, your friend. Be careful. He doesn’t inspire me with confidence.”
Photo from Keven Deblois’ Facebook page
Keven Deblois was arrested on Thursday for the murder of his girlfriend Karine Bélanger.
Keven Deblois, 24, was arrested on Thursday for the murder of his girlfriend Karine Bélanger, 36, with whom he had recently been dating.
The body of the mother of three was found abandoned in a burnt-out van in a cornfield back-to-back in Saint-Bernard.
The suspect will appear Friday on charges of second-degree murder, theft of a vehicle, contempt for a corpse and concealment.
He was already incarcerated in Quebec’s detention center for violating conditions.
According to our information, it was the second time in less than a year that Deblois had been illegally at liberty during the alleged murder.
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Unpredictable
The roadmap of the man from Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce is well filled.
He was so unpredictable that in July 2020, Judge Hubert Couture bluntly told him, “I don’t trust you,” when he asked to be released pending trial for the attempted murder of a man.
Those charges were later reduced to aggravated assault charges, for which he was sentenced to 42 months in February 2021.
Photo from Keven Deblois’ Facebook page
Karine Belanger
Judge Carl Thibault, who received his guilty plea, gave him a good warning: “Fortunately for the victim, the injuries were not fatal. Because you wouldn’t be standing before me today for aggravated assault, but for murder, a case of murder. […] Let’s hope so […] You will take care of yourself.”
The young man has also been convicted of property crimes, obstruction of police work, drug trafficking, illegal possession of weapons and misdemeanor offenses, particularly those related to firearms.
He is the father of a child conceived during a previous very turbulent relationship.
illegal freedom
Deblois received an initial parole in late September 2021, on the third of his sentence, and began therapy.
At the time, the Quebec Conditional Liberation Commission (CQLC) mentioned that his risk of recidivism was high.
“You seem to recognize your problem of consumption, but little that of impulsive violence,” wrote the CQLC, underscoring its “great latent aggressiveness.”
In April 2022, he did not show up for four days at the transition house where he was supposed to stay. He then returned to detention from May to July.
Photo archive, Agency QMI
The body of Karine Bélanger was found in this burned-out vehicle.
risk of recurrence
In July, the CQLC granted him a second parole but still considered his risk of recidivism high.
Under the new conditions imposed on him, he had to report any intimate relationship with his prison officer.
In early September, he confessed his love to Karine Bélanger on Facebook, almost three weeks before the murder.
At the time he was living in a transitional home, but according to our information he did not report there either on the day of the alleged murder.
“We are very saddened by this tragedy. It is every intervener’s nightmare to see such a situation occur,” commented the director of the facility.
Escaping after stabbing a man
Keven Deblois, arrested Thursday for the murder of Karine Bélanger, violently stabbed a man in 2018 before fleeing to Alberta.
“You are considered to be impulsive and have trouble controlling your emotions well. Their frustration was expressed through violence of considerable gravity,” underscores a report by the Commission Québécoise des libérations conditionnelles.
In November 2018, when he was 21, Deblois stabbed a man in the chest.
The victim went to Deblois’ mother in the middle of the night, where he was staying with his ex-wife and their baby, to obtain sexual services for money. Deblois often forced his former wife into prostitution.
During the antics, Deblois grabbed a knife and stabbed the man three times, screaming that he would kill him.
The bloodied man was able to save himself and collapsed in a nearby McDonald’s restaurant, where the emergency services were called.
Severe injury
“My lung was punctured and the heart envelope was affected. I came close I knew that two months ago [Deblois] was looking for me to get revenge,” the victim said.
His heart is now only functioning at 84% of its full capacity.
Deblois and his wife realized it was only a matter of time before the authorities wanted them.
So they made their escape to Alberta. Before leaving, Deblois had entrusted his son to his mother without explanation and had stolen two handguns from his uncle.
A few days later, they were arrested in Kapuskasing, Ontario, where they were charged with multiple misdeeds.
drug problems
At the time of his arrest in 2018, Deblois was unemployed and using methamphetamine and GHB on a daily basis, with his drug problems dating back to his teenage years.
In July 2020, a psychiatrist at the Quebec City Detention Center was in the process of diagnosing bipolar disorder and he was being medicated.
A difficult past
March 2018
Keven Deblois is sentenced to 6 months in prison for trafficking cannabis, methamphetamines and ecstasy and violating probation. The possession of weapons is forbidden to him.
Nov 2018
He stabs a man to death in Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce before fleeing to Alberta with his then-wife. A few days later he was arrested in northern Ontario after committing various misdeeds.
December 2018
He is formally charged with attempted murder. He remains in custody in Ontario.
January 2020
He is transferred to Quebec Detention Center, remanded in custody for attempted murder and crimes committed in Ontario.
June 2020
He pleads guilty to some of the crimes committed in Ontario, he is sentenced to 18 months and 22 days, one more day than he is already serving in custody. He remains in custody for attempted murder.
February 3, 2021
He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault. He is sentenced to 42 months in prison, but only to 714 days because of his pre-trial detention. The sentence comes with a number of conditions, including a three-year probation period, an 18-month follow-up if released from prison and the provision of a DNA sample.
September 28, 2021
Deblois’ first probation, he started therapy and then stayed in a transition home.
May 12, 2022
Reincarnation of Deblois for being illegally at large.
July 12, 2022
He gets his probation back and is sent to a transitional home.
September 4, 2022
Karine Bélanger states on Facebook that she is in a relationship with Deblois.
September 25, 2022
Murder of Karine Bélanger, a van is stolen in Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce to put her body in before being set on fire in a row in Saint-Bernard.
Excerpts from the reports of the Commission Québécoise des libérations conditionnelles
“You say that you have recently become aware that you are violent. […] You want to work on the dimension of impulsivity […] »
“They pose a high risk and are the subject of positive recommendations from stakeholders. The Commission considers that the risk in such a framework is not unacceptable to society. »
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