MONTREAL — The coroner’s public inquiry into the events surrounding the murder, in 2020, of the little girls Norah and Romy Carpentier by their father, Martin Carpentier, begins Monday at the Quebec courthouse.
The Minister of Public Security at the time, Geneviève Guilbault, had ordered last year that a public inquiry be held after the broadcast of a report by the program “Enquête” on Radio-Canada.
In its report, Radio-Canada revealed that the Sûreté du Québec made mistakes during the search operations that had been carried out to find the girls. Elements of the report had not been taken into account during the coroner’s initial inquest.
Police have concluded that Martin Carpentier killed Norah, 11, and Romy, 6, in a wooded area near Saint-Apollinaire, southwest of Quebec, before committing suicide.
In October 2021, a coroner’s report also highlighted flaws in the police investigation and recommended changes to the process for issuing Amber Alerts. The coroner also recommended the creation of a dedicated police unit to investigate missing children across the province.
Deputy Chief Coroner Luc Malouin will preside over the public inquest.
On July 8, 2020, Martin Carpentier kidnapped the two girls and took off, causing an accident on Highway 20 near Saint-Apollinaire.
He had then abandoned his car and fled into the forest, taking the two children with him.
An Amber alert was issued on July 9, about 18 hours after the accident.
The bodies of Norah and Romy Carpentier were found on July 11 in a wooded area and that of their father, who was also in the forest, a few kilometers away, was spotted ten days later.
