A woman carries a placard reading "8 weeks, 8 femicides, it's enough" during a moment of silence prior to a march in protest against domestic violence, after several women in the province were killed in recent weeks, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada April 2, 2021.CHRISTINNE MUSCHI/Reuters
Provincial police have identified two bodies discovered Friday in a home on Montreal’s South Shore, saying the deaths resulted from domestic violence as Quebec’s femicide crisis continues.
Officers say the victims were Richard West, 38, and his wife Dyann Serafica-Donaire, 50.
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Police spokeswoman Anik Lamirande says investigators believe West took his own life after killing Serafica-Donaire, whose death marks Quebec’s 10th femicide this year.
Isabelle Charest, the minister responsible for the status of women, says “all of Quebec is shaken” to learn of the tragedy, and that the government is working to find solutions to a “worrying crisis.”
Chantal Arseneault, president of Quebec’s Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale, is calling for emergency measures and a change in mindset to bring down what she called a “horrifying count.”
Police say the criminal investigation is complete, but a coroner’s inquest could yield more information about the circumstances surrounding the two deaths.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2021.