2 men charged with 2nd-degree murder, arson after Old Montreal fire killed mother, daughter

Two men have been charged with second-degree murder and arson after a fire in an Old Montreal building killed a mother and daughter from France.

Justin Fortier-Trahan, 20, and Juventino Hernandez Pelaez, 18, were charged in the deaths of Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter Vérane Reynaud Geraudie, who were in the building when it caught fire Oct. 4.

The two men also face a charge of arson causing bodily harm in connection to another man, and recklessly endangering life by damaging a property by fire or explosion.

Montreal police said Friday that Fortier-Trahan was suspected of throwing an incendiary device into the building while Hernandez Pelaez was suspected of driving the getaway car.

The suspects were known to police. Security camera footage obtained by Radio-Canada shows a masked person breaking into the building minutes before the fire broke out.

SPVM Inspector David Shane says since last Friday, the SPVM “has been working tirelessly to get to the bottom of this tragedy.”

“It was important for us to let everybody know fast, to reassure the population of the effectiveness of the Montreal police and its partners in dealing these types of cases,” Shane said.

The fire was the second deadly blaze in Old Montreal in less than two years, after seven people were killed in a March 2023 fire in a building that housed short-term rentals.

City records show both buildings belong to Emile Benamor, who also owns a third building in the neighbourhood that was hit by gunfire earlier this week.