As 6th person arrested in Trois-Rivires triple murder, outlines of complex web emerge

Police in Quebec have arrested a sixth person they believe is connected to a series of grisly murders that took place around Trois-Rivires last fall.

The bodies of three people were discovered Oct. 10: Ophlie Martin-Cyr, 19, was shot dead in a field just south of the city, while Jean-Christophe Gilbert and Steve Lamy were found in a burnt-out car 35 kilometres away.

Gilbert's body had been dismembered and stuffed into the back seat. It took provincial police nearly a month to confirm his identity.

Since the outset of the investigation, police have maintained that the deaths were linked, but have remained tight-lipped about exactly how.

They arrested two men within 36 hours of finding the bodies. Francis Martel, 31, and Ren Kgle, 38, have both been charged with first-degree murder in Martin-Cyr's death.

Kgle also faces an attempted murder charge for allegedly firing a gun at another, unnamed victim.

Police said a 21-year-old woman jumped from a moving car the night Martin-Cyr was killed. The woman was seriously injured, but survived.

Both Kgle and Martel have long criminal records. Kgle has twice been convicted of assault.

After the pair was charged, authorities offered few new details in the case. But in the past three weeks, charges have been laid against four additionalpeople.

They form a disparate group that includes a waitress from Bcancour, a small business owner from Laval and a convicted burglar from Trois-Rivires.

On Friday, a 22-year-old woman with no criminal past became the latest person charged in the affair.

Between the scant information contained in the charge sheets, and accounts from those who know the suspects and knew the victims, the outlines of a complex and fatal web havebegun to emerge.

The grieving, devout Muslim convert

Gilbert was the first person killed, shot to death sometime around Oct. 2, according to court documents.

He was a 24-year-old Muslim convert from Massueville, a small town about 70 kilometres southwest of Trois-Rivires.

After the death of his three-year-old daughter over the summer, Gilbert became more devout, and began wearing religious garments on a daily basis.

"He said it was prayer that was going to save him," his mother, Corine Bolduc, told Radio-Canada.

Her son, she said, had met a young womanin Trois-Rivires who took drugs. But he hoped to convince her to follow his religious example.

"I told him it was dangerous and to make sure he knew what he was doing," Bolduc said. "He wanted to protect her. He liked her and wanted to help her."

On Oct. 2, he drove into Trois-Rivires in the used car he had recently bought. "I'll be back soon," he told his mother, and gave her a kiss.

That was the last time she saw her son.

A 63-year-old man, Gilles Guilbeault, was charged last week with second-degree murder in Gilbert's death.

Guilbeault, whose criminal past includes charges of breaking and entering and theft, was also charged with breaking into the home of Steve Lamy, whose body was found alongside Gilbert's.

Mauricio Peralta Severino, a 29-year-old man from Laval who owns a painting and renovation company, was arrested in late February and accused of complicity after the fact in Gilbert's murder.

He is also charged with interfering with the dignity of a dead body. Police believe he is the one who dismembered Gilbert's body.

Last week, Shanny Haley, 22, was also charged in Gilbert's murder. Like Severino, she is accused of complicity after the fact.

Did robbery lead to final murder?

Police believe Lamy, 50, who used to own a construction company in Trois-Rivires, was shot to death around Oct. 8.

It was his car that was found torched two days later. His body was in the trunk.

Nomie Morin, a 24-year-old waitress, has been accused of murdering Lamy. But Crown prosecutors say they don't believe she was the one who pulled the trigger.

Under the Canadian Criminal Code, someone suspected of complicity in a murder can be charged with that murder, saidCrown lawyer BenotLarouche.

Morin appeared in court to be chargedFeb. 28. Sheis also facing counts of kidnapping, fraud and theft.

Her arrest shocked friends and former co-workers.

"It surprises me. She's someone who had a joie de vivre, who loved life," said Alexandre Veillette, who worked with Morin at a hotel complex in Bcancour, just south of Trois-Rivires.

Police sources have told Radio-Canada that they believe the final murder was precipitated by robbery committed by a group of young people on Oct. 9.

It is thought that Martin-Cyr had knowledge about that robbery and was with a friend when the suspects approached her for information, Radio-Canada reported.

Her friend managed to escape through a car window and contacted police. Martin-Cyr's body was found the next morning.

Haley is due back in court in Trois-Rivires on Tuesday. Thus far, none of these allegations have been tested in court.