Advocates urge action as Montreal police confirm taxi slaying was murder-suicide

Montreal police are confirming the discovery of two bodies inside a taxi cab in Saint-Léonard on Friday morning was the result of conjugal violence.

Police said Saturday that investigators believe a 52-year-old man killed his 40-year-old wife before taking his own life.

Authorities say both people appear to have died from stab wounds to the upper body. The man was found in the driver’s seat and the woman was found by his side in the passenger’s seat.

Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant said a citizen found the pair at the intersection of De Nevers and Dujarié streets and called emergency services just before 5:25 a.m.

READ MORE: Man and woman found dead inside Montreal taxi cab

Their deaths were confirmed at the scene.

This marks the city’s seventh homicide of 2021 and the province’s sixth case of femicide since the beginning of the year — a situation some advocates say has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Man, 32, arrested after 29-year-old partner sent to hospital in critical condition

This comes as police are investigating another suspected case of conjugal violence on Saturday in the Montreal borough of LaSalle.

A 29-year-old woman was sent to hospital in critical condition and her 32-year-old partner was arrested after a 911 call sent police to an apartment at about 6:50 a.m.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante weighed in on Twitter on Saturday on the two cases of domestic violence in the past two days.

“It has to stop. This violence against women is unacceptable,” Plante wrote.

Earlier in March Premier François Legault addressed the recent rise in femicides in Quebec, calling on men in the province to stop being violent with women.

The premier said he wanted to address the men of the province and tell them that violent behaviour toward women is “cowardly.”

READ MORE: Legault calls on men to stop violence against women as Quebec marks another 2 killings this week

This came after two women from the same family, aged 60 and 28, were killed in Sainte-Sophie in the Laurentians on March 2.

“It doesn’t make sense. Once again, women have been killed at home,” Legault said.

He called on men to speak to their sons and their friends on the issue. “It doesn’t make sense that in 2021 we live like barbarians,” he said.

“We are in a civilized society. All of our women and children have the right to a safe environment.”

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Legault said he hopes the situation improves thanks to the measures his government has put in place to support women’s shelters across Quebec. Housing groups however say the government needs to follow up on their statements and increase funding toward social housing and shelters for women.

Women are much more at risk since the start of the pandemic, according to advocates, as they are stuck at home with their abusive partners and can feel there are fewer possibilities with regards to seeking help.

If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic violence, call 1-800-363-9010 or get more information here.

–With files from the Canadian Press and Kalina Laframboise, Global News

1:46 Man and woman found dead inside Montreal taxi

0:58 Advocates push Quebec government to invest in social housing for victims of domestic violence