The Guylaine Potvin murder case could be in the fast lane as the DPCQ on Wednesday announced its intention to file a direct indictment, a proceeding that would result in alleged killer Marc-André Grenon being tried directly.
• Also read: Murder of Guylaine Potvin: Four arrest warrants against investigators ahead of Marc-André Grenon’s arrest
• Also read: Murder of Guylaine Potvin: Charged 22 years later, Grenon is still awaiting full evidence
It was Crown prosecutor on the file, Me Pierre-Alexandre Bernard, who notified the court when Grenon returned to court on Wednesday morning. The man is accused of murdering the 19-year-old student in Jonquière in April 2000.
Direct prosecution, a discretionary power of the Attorney General, has the effect of circumventing the conduct of a preliminary investigation and thereby speeding up the process by bringing the case directly to the court.
Me Bernard informed the court and defense attorney Me Karine Poliquin of their intention to file such a case by the next date set for March 14.
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Evidence disclosure to be completed
The case was back in court Wednesday morning for a review of evidence disclosure. A second piece of evidence was disclosed to the defense in both the Chicoutimi murder case and the attempted murder case in Quebec.
The Crown reiterated its intention to complete disclosure of evidence in the coming months.
“The spring date is still realistic,” said Mr. Bernard, still remembering the size of the file. “We know it was a 22-year investigation that led to Mr Grenon’s arrest.”
The Crown has remained silent on its intentions in the Quebec attempted murder case, knowing whether a direct indictment could also be pursued.
recall of facts
Marc-André Grenon was arrested last October, 22 years after the murder of Guylaine Potvin.
The student was found dead in her home near Cégep de Jonquière. She had been sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled, a sad fate that shared some similarities with another case that occurred a few months later in Quebec.
In this second case, however, the victim escaped but had never been able to identify his attacker. Marc-André Grenon is accused of attempted murder and serious sexual assault on this then 20-year-old second woman.
DNA taken from the crime scenes confirmed that the same perpetrator was behind the crimes, but the latter could never be officially identified.