The search continues for convicted killer Lory Bill Germa, who escaped from a Quebec prison over the weekend and may be in Ontario.
On Sunday, Correctional Service Canada (CSC) said the 69-year-old, who was serving an indeterminate sentence for first-degree murder, had escaped from Archambault Institution in Quebec’s Laurentians area.
A short time later, provincial police in Ontario issued a release saying Germa could be hiding in the southwestern portion of the province.
Here is what we know about Germa:
The crime
According to an appeal filed in 1995, Germa was involved in the brutal slaying of Bradley Alderton on Oct. 19, 1990, in Chertsey, Que., which is about 100 kilometres north of Montreal.
Germa, Alderton and a third man were involved in a robbery in Toronto, where they made off with $29,000, but the two men felt that Alderton had ripped them off.
They met up with him at a home Germa had been renting in Chertsey, and after Alderton passed out, they killed him with an axe and a knife.
How he was caught
The third man, listed in the court document as “Borland,” led police to the body following his arrest in connection with several robberies.
Initially, he attempted to pin the entire crime on Germa, but after taking a polygraph, he admitted he had also stabbed the victim.
The two men replaced the mattress where the victim had been sleeping the following day, and that night, they buried the body in another location in Chertsey.
On June 5, 1991, Borland led police to the body.
The escape
On Saturday, Germa was found missing during an inmate count at the minimum-security unit of Archambault Institution, where he was serving his sentence.
A spokesperson for Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) says that they are unable to discuss specifics surrounding Germa’s escape due to privacy concerns.
“CSC is conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident and is working with police to locate the offender as quickly as possible,” regional communications manager Jean-François Mathieu said in an email. “Inmates who escape or are unlawfully at large may be subject to a security classification review or additional charges.”
Germa is the second convicted killer to escape from Archambault in the last three weeks.
Fellow inmate Richard Plourde escaped on June 22 and was arrested by Quebec provincial police the following day.
“It is important to note that such escapes remain rare,” Mathieu said. “The number of individuals who have escaped from a federal institution represents only about 0.1 per cent of the inmate population.”
He went on to note that CSC places inmates into prisons which correspond to their security level.
“CSC’s approach to initial security classification and subsequent reclassification includes the use of evidence-based assessment tools, the professional judgment of specialized staff, and psychological evaluations when necessary,” Mathieu explained.
“Research shows that reclassifying inmates to lower security levels increases their sense of responsibility. The environment of a minimum-security institution is designed to foster the skills needed to function in a setting with minimal supervision. This is why the perimeter is clearly defined but does not include a fence.”
He said that the process is part of the reintegration process and aids convicts inmates in becoming law-abiding members of society, noting that some inmates will never be released despite moving to lower-security prisons.
Mathieu also noted that it is not a one-way stream as some prisoners may also be transferred to higher-security prisons if deemed necessary.
The facility is located in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, about 40 kilometres northwest of Montreal, and has housed some notable inmates, including Valery Fabrikant and Luka Magnotta.
The Ontario connection
On Sunday, police in Ontario announced that Germa may be hiding in southwestern Ontario, more specifically in the South Bruce or Hanover areas, and was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant.
When asked what connected Germa to the area in that specific part of the province, a police spokesperson told Global News that Germa has relatives in the area.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police.