The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) should review its investigation methods, said deputy chief coroner Me Luc Malouin in his report on the deaths of Romy and Norah Carpentier, who were killed by their father in July 2020.
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However, after meetings with around fifty witnesses and 19 days of proceedings, Me Malouin believes that “the police hierarchy must seriously question its model of intervention in an emergency”.
Among the deficiencies identified by the coroner was, in particular, the lack of staff, which was “a source of problems throughout the case”.
“The lack of these qualified personnel has led to delays and delays in research. Staff turnover also caused time wastage as basic information always had to be provided,” he pointed out in his 85-page report.
In his opinion, the fact that the investigators had not made the effort to reconstruct the girls’ last 24 hours had damaged the investigation, although he understood that the Sûreté du Québec wanted to mobilize its employees to find their father, Martin Carpentier.
“If this step is not taken, many clues that could have been found in the camp or in the surrounding area where they were found dead may be lost,” Me Malouin said.
The SQ should also have “issued a media alert” on the morning of July 9, 2020 to find the two sisters and their father as quickly as possible.
SQ investigators had already admitted last February that there had been communication disruptions during the search for the Carpentier sisters and their father Martin.
Here is the full list of the coroner’s recommendations to the SQ:
– Modification of the Management Policy “Runaways, Disappearances, Kidnappings” ENQ, CRIM.-36, to provide for the presence of two investigators in each disappearance of a child under 13 years of age;
– to remind all officials, investigators and police officers of the importance of always considering the disappearance of a child under 13 years of age as the worst-case scenario and acting accordingly;
– Equip vehicles and police officers with the technology necessary to share information collected during a police operation;
– Train their emergency service police officers, both Pool 1 and Pool 2 officers, in accordance with national search and rescue standards and ensure that skills and competencies are maintained. Experience in accordance with national standard CSA Z1620-15;
– Establish simple and effective partnership and cooperation protocols with other police forces, wildlife officers and volunteers of the Quebec Association of Search and Rescue Volunteers (AQBRS) and distribute these protocols to all officers;
– In the event of disappearances, particularly if a child under the age of 13 is involved, to issue a media alert quickly after the disappearance;
– Establishment of a unified command post from the start of a land search operation;
– assign a ground research technician to this command post to act as a liaison between researchers and investigators;
– To provide comprehensive feedback at the end of each day;
– To better compile all farm registers, both for investigative work and for ground research.