15 years later, monument unveiled to remember Julie Surprenant

MONTREAL – The family and friends of Julie Surprenant marked a sad anniversary on Sunday.

Fifteen years ago the 16-year-old Terrebonne girl disappeared without a trace.

She was last seen at a bus stop only a few metres from her home.

That’s where dozens gathered on Sunday to unveil a monument in her name.

The monument depicts a bowler hat, the kind Julie often liked to wear.

Her father, Michel Surprenant said he wants the monument to remind parents to keep their children safe.

“Today our children are there, but tomorrow they can just vanish, so the present moment is very important.” 

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GALLERY: The Julie Surprenant case in pictures

In June 2006, Surprenant’s neighbour, Richard Bouillon, confessed to a nurse on his deathbed that he murdered the teen, stuffed her body in a sports bag and dumped her in the Mille-Iles river.

Read more: Making noise for missing children

The nurse only came forward with the information five years later and when police divers combed through the Mille-Iles river, they came up empty handed.

In 2012, a coroner’s inquest re-opened her case and eventually concluded that Richard Bouillon likely did rape and kill the teenager.