SPVM investigates funeral home niches theft, urges families to check for missing items
Posted June 7, 2026 11:34 am.
Last Updated June 7, 2026 3:12 pm.
Montreal police (SPVM) are asking families across the Greater Montreal area to check columbarium and mausoleum niches for signs of theft after an investigation led to the arrest of two suspects and the recovery of hundreds of pieces of jewelry.
The SPVM says investigators with its West Regional Investigation Section are working to identify families whose loved ones may have been targeted over the past year.
Police say two suspects arrested on May 14 carried out a series of break-ins at funeral centres in Montreal, Laval, the North Shore and as far as Saint-Hyacinthe.
They say jewelry and other valuables were stolen from sealed niches inside columbariums.
Arrests made after public tips
Commander Sylvain Dumouchel of the SPVM Western Regional Investigations Unit says the case moved quickly after investigators received information from the public.
“We received the information in mid-April and due to the sensibility of the cases, we mobilized our team really fast and we were able to arrest two suspects related to theft in the funeral homes,” Dumouchel said.
He says police have recovered a large number of stolen items.
“We were able to seize around 600 pieces of jewelry,” he said. “And since then, we tried to reach the family to give them back their valuables.”
Dumouchel says public tips were key to identifying the suspects.
“From the beginning of the investigation, it was the information of the public that would direct us to those suspects,” he said. “And as we collected the information, we were able to identify them and arrest them.”
Families may not know items are missing
Investigators say many families may not be aware their loved ones’ niches were targeted.
Sergeant Detective Stefania Barsan says police are now going public to reach more potential victims.
“Well, the thing is that some of the families may not even be aware of the fact that they were stolen,” she said. “We have multiple families that already filed the report and that’s the reason why we need to go public to see if there are any other families.”
Police are urging families to verify niches and report anything missing.
Barsan says detailed information is needed when filing a report.
“What’s important is to give the deceased name, a description of the item that was stolen and if it’s possible to have a photograph of it, the exact location of the niche and also an approximate time frame of the theft,” she said.
How the thefts were carried out
Police say the suspects allegedly forced open niches using tools and removed jewelry and other valuables during operating hours.
“The method that they use is that they are forcing the niches with the tool and they steal the jewelry,” Barsan said. “It happens during the opening hours and it’s not necessarily that they’re breaking a door to go inside.”
Two suspects, identified by police as André Diderot Gustave, 49, and Christina Loubounakis, a couple in their 50s, are facing charges of break and enter and theft.
Emotional impact on families
Police say hundreds of items have been recovered and efforts are underway to return them to their rightful owners.
Dumouchel says the goal goes beyond recovery.
“We just try to reach as many families as possible to return the valuable,” he said.
Barsan says each item carries emotional meaning.
“Behind every one of these items, there’s a story and an emotional value. And our main goal is to bring those families some peace.”
Families speak out
One Montreal-area resident says she discovered a missing ring during a recent visit to her grandmother’s niche at Rideau Funeral Home & Cemetery in Dollard-des-Ormeaux.
“We go usually every Mother’s Day to visit for the past 22 years,” said Ashley, a LaSalle resident.
“Every Mother’s Day I noticed that the ring is there. I put it there back in 2004. And this Mother’s Day I’m like, I said to my father, ‘oh, my ring’s gone. Where’d my ring go?’”
She says she later filed a police report after learning other thefts were being investigated.
“When I filed the police report, the detective had told me that there’s a lot of robberies that are taking place,” she said.
Ashley says the experience was shocking.
“I was really shocked,” she said. “Me and my father, we were like blown away. Like how can somebody do this?”
She says she supports efforts to recover stolen items but is not optimistic about getting her ring back.
“I think it’s good that they’re trying to get back the jewelry. Do I think I’m going to get my ring back? I highly doubt it. It would be great if I did,” she said.
Ashley is now warning other families.
“Be careful what you put in there. Nothing’s safe,” she said.
Police urge families to come forward
Police are asking anyone who believes items may have been stolen to contact their local station.
Families should provide the name of the deceased, descriptions or photos of missing items, the location of the niche and an estimated time of the theft.
