A man from Quebec has been convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a 10-year-old girl in a suburb of northern Montreal over three decades ago, providing closure for the victim’s family. Réal Courtemanche, aged 62 and already serving time for other offenses, confessed on Friday that the evidence presented in the case clearly demonstrates his guilt in the killing of Marie-Chantale Desjardins.
The young girl went missing on July 16, 1994, after leaving a friend’s house in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, and her body was discovered four days later in the woods near a shopping center in Rosemère. The case remained unsolved until Courtemanche was apprehended in prison in 2023 due to advancements in DNA technology.
Sylvie Desjardins, the victim’s mother, delivered a heartfelt message to Courtemanche in court in Saint-Jérôme, expressing her profound sorrow and conveying the impact of his actions on her family. She later spoke to the media outside the courtroom, stating that the verdict marked the end of a 31-year journey and allowed Marie-Chantale to finally rest in peace.
Courtemanche was arrested by Quebec provincial police at La Macaza Institution in the Laurentians region in December 2023. Both the prosecution and defense recommended the maximum penalty for second-degree murder, which is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years, with the final decision to be made by Quebec Superior Court Justice Hélène Di Salvo on November 10.
Having amassed numerous convictions since 1981, Courtemanche was deemed a dangerous offender in 2015 and received an indeterminate sentence after being found guilty of kidnapping and assaulting a woman. The court’s ruling highlighted his extensive criminal record, which included multiple violent offenses, underscoring his persistent and unchanging criminal behavior over the years.
