Three years after deadly fire, police arrest owner of Old Montreal building

The owner of a building destroyed in a deadly 2023 fire in Old Montreal has been arrested by Montreal police (SPVM)

SPVM say 63-year-old Émile Haïm Benamor was taken into custody by its arson and explosive unit under an arrest warrant in connection with the March 16, 2023 fire at Place D’Youville. He will face 15 charges pre-authorized by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), seven for manslaughter and eight for criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

Two separate criminal investigations are ongoing. One, led by the major crime unit, is examining the alleged intentional cause of the fire. The other, led by the arson and explosives unit, is focused on the owner’s alleged negligence in managing the building and how it may have contributed to the spread of the fire, as well as the resulting deaths and injuries.

“We’re not accusing him of having (started) the fire,” Shane told reporters at Montreal Police headquarters. Shane also said police were not accusing Benamor of having instructed someone else to start the fire.

“We are aware that the families of the deceased victims have been waiting for answers for a long time. We hope that this major new development can alleviate, to some extent, their suffering,” said Chief Inspector David Shane, Chief of Communications and Training. “This case will continue immediately before the Superior Court of Quebec. On the other hand, the investigation into the intentional outbreak of the fire will remain open until it is resolved.

Police say the investigation took time due to the complexity of the case.

Shane said a case file was given to prosecutors in 2024 and investigators had been working with the Crown to supply more evidence. This included consultations with experts about the state of the building and whether this had an impact on how fast the fire spread.

The arrest announced today stems from the second investigation.

SPVM was livestreaming the press conference on Youtube.

Police have said that traces of an accelerant were found at the scene, which could explain how the fire spread so quickly through the building.

Six of the victims had been staying in illegal short-term rentals. Maheux was a longtime resident of the building. 

Twenty-two people were in the building at the time of the fire; nine were injured.

The victims were:

• 18-year-old Charlie Lacroix
• 18-year-old Walid Belkahla
• 31-year-old An Wu
• 31-year-old Dania Zafar
• 32-year-old Saniya Khan
• 35-year-old Nathan Sears
• 76-year-old Camille Maheux

“We reiterate our thoughts for the deceased victims and their families. We also do not forget the other people who were present at the scene and who survived the night of March 16, 2023,” concluded Chief Inspector Shane. “Our priority is to do them justice and to be able to provide all the answers. We are committed to the end.”

The William-Watson-Ogilvie building, a heritage building, originally housed the offices of a flour mill. It was gradually converted into a residential building between the late 1960s and the 1980s.

A number of civil lawsuits were filed stemming from that fatal blaze, and a coroner’s inquest ordered into the fire was on hold until any investigations or trials are completed.

Benamor was also the owner of another Notre-Dame Street E. building that went up in flames in October 2024, claiming the lives of two French tourists.

Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter Vérane Reynaud Geraudie perished in the blaze, which started in a restaurant and quickly spread to the upper floors that were being used as a hostel.

In that other fatal fire, two men, Justin Fortier-Trahan and Juventino Hernandez Pelaez, who were 20 and 18 at the time, were charged with second-degree murder and arson among other charges and are currently awaiting trial.

Also in October 2024, police arrested three people after another building owned by Benamor was shot up. Shane said two of the three have already pleaded guilty to weapons-related charges and were sentenced while a third will appear in court in April.

Prior to these incidents in June 2021, the Quebec bar placed a restriction on Benamor’s right to practise tax law. The Canada Revenue Agency said Benamor pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in January 2021, saying he failed to report income totalling $469,591 during the 2012 and 2013 tax years.

The CRA said the amounts came from a fraudulent scheme but the federal agency said it did not have evidence showing Benamor was aware that the funds came from such a scheme.