Illustration by Marc-André Grenon during his trial at the Chicoutimi courthouse.
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Guylaine Potvin's two roommates testified Wednesday afternoon at the trial for the murder of the student in April 2000. Both said they never saw her in the company of Marc-André Grenon, accused of the sexual assault and the murder of Guylaine Potvin.
The trial continued all day at the Chicoutimi courthouse in front of Judge François Huot and the jury.
Marc-André Grenon was arrested in October 2022.
The first woman called to the stand Wednesday afternoon gave an emotional testimony.
The woman who cannot be named due to a publication ban was unable to hold back her sobs at times, notably when she was asked to speak about the evening of the murder.
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She said she went to see a play with friends on April 27, 2000. She remembers going to eat afterwards and going to sleep at her boyfriend at the time, who lived on the same street as her.
I was in Jonquière, then I wondered a lot if I could have done something different. Would this have happened if I had gone back to the apartment? I thought about going to get some clothes [that evening], but I didn't stop at home, she mentioned.
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The door to Guylaine Potvin's apartment was not barred.
< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">She also explained that she had long felt guilty about what had happened, wondering if her presence at the apartment could have changed the turn of events .
Questioned about the habits of sharing accommodation, she admitted that it happened that the door remained unlocked during the night. I often forgot my keys, so Guylaine didn't often lock the door in case I came home and didn't have my keys, she said while crying.
< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">The witness learned of her roommate's death the next morning. It was her boyfriend who told her the news in the company of an investigator.
She mentioned having been questioned by the police several times over several years. The discussions focused, among other things, on the habits of the house or even on the social network of the girls who lived there. The element that struck me the most was about a box of condoms that belonged to me, said Guylaine Potvin's roommate.
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Guylaine Potvin was killed in Jonquière in April 2000.
The woman added that she put her box of condoms in her desk drawer and that it was no longer there after the events. She remembers buying the box the day before the tragedy.
Looking at photos of her room taken by crime scene technicians hours after the murder, she acknowledged that the room was often messy, but noted that as she remembered it, the dresser drawers were closed when she left the apartment, which is not the case in the images.
The interrogation and the cross-examination lasted approximately 45 minutes.
The other young girl who shared the apartment with Guylaine Potvin , Mélissa Arnaud, was then called to testify.
She was questioned by the prosecutor François Godin, who asked what the nature of his relationship with Guylaine Potvin was. Ms. Arnaud said she met her when they moved in together at the start of the school year in August 1999 and quickly became friends with her.
The witness mentioned leaving the apartment on rue Panet late in the afternoon on Thursday April 27, 2000 to go to her parents in Lac-Saint-Jean.
She learned of the death of her roommate the next day. It was a lot of emotion, rage too, she said while crying.
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The roommate by Guylaine Potvin Mélissa Arnaud testified Wednesday afternoon.
The lawyer then asked her what this consisted of rage.
Because someone had entered. Because the door wasn't locked, she replied.
Mélissa Arnaud explained that the door was always locked, except in the week and a half preceding the event, her roommate having lost her keys.
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Photos of Mélissa Arnaud’s room had already been shown in court.
Like her former roommate, she claimed to have never seen Guylaine Potvin in the company of the accused.
Marc-André Grenon's lawyers did not have any questions during cross-examination.
The hearings will resume Thursday morning at the Chicoutimi courthouse.
In the morning, the cross-examination of forensic pathologist Caroline Tanguay had resumed.
She testifies as an expert witness at the trial of Marc-André Grenon.
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Pathologist Caroline Tanguay testified at the trial by Marc-André Grenon.
During the first part of her testimony on Tuesday, Dr. Tanguay described in detail the injuries observed on the victim's body during the autopsy.
Lawyer Vanessa Pharand, who briefly began her cross-examination on Tuesday afternoon, continued on Wednesday morning. She returned to many details discussed previously, in particular particularities concerning the lesions visible on the body of Guylaine Potvin.
Dr. Tanguay clarified that in her opinion, the autopsy was carried out adequately by Dr. Claude Pothel in the spring of 2000. She recalled that the blood infiltrations observed allowed us to conclude that the victim was still alive when he suffered his injuries.
The cross-examination ended around 11:30 a.m.
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Judge François Huot presides over the trial of Marc-André Grenon at the Chicoutimi courthouse.
At the end of the morning, the prosecutor for criminal and penal prosecutions, Pierre-Alexandre Bernard, filed as an exhibit a photo album which contained images of Guylaine Potvin's purse and its contents. The bag was found on May 5, 2000 in a sorting center by an employee.
The jurors were able to take knowledge of the contents of the photo album.
A photo of Guylaine Potvin taken by her mother on her 19th birthday was also filed. We see the young woman, as well as a ring that she wore on her finger.
This jewel was mentioned in the testimony of pathologist Caroline Tanguay, because it was no longer on the victim's right ring finger during the autopsy. Only one mark was observed on the finger at this time.
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116
