Saint-Leonard: Two people found dead in a vehicle, SQ and BEI investigating

Two people were found dead in a vehicle overnight in the borough of Saint-Leonard.

Montreal police (SPVM) received a call to 911 around 12:30 a.m. Thursday about two people in a parked car in a commercial parking lot on Pascal-Gagnon Street.

When officers and first responders arrived, two people were unconscious and despite resuscitation attempts, they were pronounced dead at the scene.

#WATCH: Two people were found dead in a vehicle overnight in the borough of Saint-Leonard. On Wednesday, two people were reported missing in the area and the vehicle found in the parking lot matches the one police had been looking for.

READ: https://t.co/DjlYPY8xgX pic.twitter.com/obXRtAIJ7s

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) October 17, 2024

On Wednesday, two people were reported missing from Saint-Leonard; a mother and son — and the vehicle found in the parking lot overnight matches the one police had been looking for. SPVM would not confirm the cases are related.

But CityNews spoke to a bystander on the scene that wanted to remain anonymous. He said that he knew one of the two people found and confirmed to us that it was the missing man.  

“It’s a fellow that I know from the past in the limousine service,” he said. “Good guy, very classy man, very smart man. I’m a bit surprised. I know that lately [he] had maybe some issues, but very surprised that this happened.”

The bystander said he saw the victim a few months ago — that the victim had sold a limousine to a friend of his.

“He was getting rid of his cars for some reason, maybe he had problems, I have no idea why. So he was sort of out of the business now lately.”

For now, authorities are calling the deaths “suspicious” as the bodies showed signs of violence.

Montreal police turned over the investigation to the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) — Quebec’s police watchdog — to investigate the SPVM intervention. The BEI and they would not comment further – saying it’s too early.

While the SQ — provincial police — launched a parallel criminal investigation. In a press release, the SQ says they are “tasked with analyzing the scene and clarifying the causes and circumstances surrounding these two deaths. The investigation is continuing.”

-With files from La Presse Canadienne