Quebec's newly formed Association of Families of Victims of Crime held its first meeting on Sunday


Christian Carretta, Marcel Bolduc, Michel Surprenant et Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu

Association des familles victimes d'actes criminels
Donner un sens à la mort violente d'un proche
Caroline Touzin
La Presse

«C'était à vous la petite fille qui s'est faite couper en morceaux.» Michèle Labelle a entendu cette phrase plusieurs fois de la bouche des enfants de l'école primaire dont elle est directrice. Chaque fois, elle lui faisait l'effet d'un coup de poignard et la cruauté de la mort de sa fille de 20 ans revenait la hanter.

D'abord résolue à reprendre son travail pour oublier le meurtre de sa fille, Valérie Aubin, découpée en morceaux à Anjou et retrouvée dans le fleuve en juillet 2003, Mme Labelle a fini par prendre une année sabbatique, incapable de faire face aux commentaires des élèves. De retour en poste depuis septembre, la dame souffre encore lorsqu'elle croise une petite Valérie qui déambule dans les corridors.

C'est pour aider des familles comme celle de Mme Labelle que Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, dont la fille Julie a été tuée à Sherbrooke par un récidiviste en 2002, a créé l'Association des familles victimes d'actes criminels.

L'Association tenait sa première réunion hier, dans un restaurant de Laval, après avoir reçu un appui moral et financier du ministre de la Justice, Jacques Dupuis, lundi dernier. Quatre pères de famille qui ont perdu leur fille, assassinée ou disparue, dont M. Boisvenu, s'étaient alors rendus à l'Assemblée nationale pour demander d'améliorer le traitement réservé aux familles victimes d'actes criminels.

OK, THIS IS A LONG ONE...

Qu'est-il arrive a Theresa Allore? 

La Tribune
Jeudi 16 Novembre 1978
par Serge Gosselin

LENNOXVILLE - Pourquoi Theresa Allore, lorsqu'elle a quitte ses amis au refectoire du college Champlain a Lennoxville a 19 heures, leur a t-elle dit qu'elle serait a sa chambre a Compton deux heures plus tard, alors qu'il faut a peine une heure, sur le pouce, pour relier ces deux endoits?

"le pouce" is hitchhiking. So - translation - "why didn't Theresa Allore, when she told her friends she would see them in two hours, not make it back to her residence?"

M. et Mne Robert Allore, les parents de Theresa qui est disparue dupuis le 3 novembre, croient qu'en elucidant ce qu'elle se proposait de faire pendant cette heure, ils pourront voir plus clair dans tout ce mystere.

Theresa's parents want an answer to this mystery.

Meme si la disparition remonte a pres de deux semaines, les policiers de la Surete municipale de Lennoxville et les parents se pendent en conjectures sur ce qu'il pu advenir de Theresa agee de 19 ans, vendredi soir le 3 novembre; s'agit-il d'une simple fugue d'une jeune etudiante ou d'un enlevement?

bla, bla, bla, I think you get this... is she a runnaway or was she abducted?

Pour M. Robert Allore, arrive tout droit de St-Jean au Nouveau-Brunswick en compagnie de son epouse et du plus jeune de ses fils, il faut esperer pour le mieux, mais il faut egalement s'attendre au pire.

"epouse": that's my mom. "jeune de ses fils": that's me. Ya, I went along with them to Quebec. Frankly, I was fourteen, and really didn't understand what-the-hell was going on.

"Il y a plus d'1 million d'hypotheses quant au sort qu'a pu subir notre fille en cette soiree du 3 novembre, il y a bien peu de chances pour que nous puissions deviner la bonne", de dire M. Allore, dont l'imagination vogue depuis quelques jours du scenerio le plus optimste au plus pessimiste.

With a million possibilities, my dad is hanging on to hope.

L'hypothese de la fugue, elle ne tient pas trop solidement en raison de certains elements recueillis depuis le debut de l'enquete dirigee par le directeur du service policier de Lennoxville, M. Leo Hamel.

D'apres la description qu'en fait son pere, Theresa Allore est une jeune fille autonome, intelligente, possedant un certain gout de l'aventure.

M. Allore a beaucoup d'estime pour la plus agee de ses trois enfants, mais il ne parvient pas a comprendre pourquoi elle s'entetait a faire de l'auto-stop, pratique qu'il lui a deconseillee a plusieurs reprises.

My dad says Theresa was bright, independent, with a taste for adventure - and he had warned her against hitchhiking. This would be his undoing - everyone picked up on this and ran with the idea that whatever happened to Theresa, she deserved the consequences.

Depuis pres d'une annee, Theresa vit eloignee de sa famille, elle a meme travaille pendant quelques mois avant de renenir aux etudes en septembre au college de Lennoxville.

Elle en est a sa premiere d'etudes au college regional Champlain, campus de Lennoxville, ou elle a enregistre des suces scolaires, comme elle la confie a son pere la derniere fois qu'ils se sont parles au telephone le 31 octobre dernier. Neanmoins, il est permis de croire que si Theresa a quitte de sa propre volonte, c'etait impevu.

Theresa was doing well at school, after having dropped out for a year. My parents last talked to her Halloween night

Elle a dit a une amie qu'elle serait a sa chambre deux heures plus tard, son compte bancaire ne laisse voir aucune transaction recente, elle avait prete pour quelques jours son sac-a-dos dont elle ne se separait jamais lors de ses sorties de week-end, il ne semble pas manquer de vetements a sa chambre, elle aurait pu en apporter avec elle si elle avait l'intention de s'absenter; voila autant de faits qui incitent M. Allore a croire qu'il ne faut pas retenir avec trop de certitude l'hypothese de la fugue et qu'une partie de l'enigme pourrait etre resolue en determinant ce que Theresa voulait faire entre son depart du refectoire de l'ecole et son arrivee a sa chambre au Kings Hall de Compton.

Nothing was missing from her room, no money drawn from her bank account - so much for the runnaway theory

Dupuis ce temps, les parents de Theresa sont sans nouvelle d'elle.

Avises de sa disparition vendredi dernier, ils sont arrives dimarche a Lennoxville ou ils resident depuis, attendant qu'a un moment ou a l'autre, leur fille donne signe de vie.

Mais, toutes leurs journees ne sont pas faites que d'attente puisqu'a sa facon, M. Allore donne un coup de main aux policiers-enqueteurs en verifiant les effets personnels de sa fille, rencontrant des confreres, ou des consoeurs d'etudes, contactant des amis ou des parents de l'exterieur de la ville.

Mais, bien peu d'indices ont ete recueillis jusqu'a maintenant.

Pour un, M. Allore s'interroge sur le fait qu'il soit impossiblr d'en apprendre davantage du cote des etudients du college; il pense que certains etudiants pourraient en savoir plus que ce qu'ils lui ont revele jusqu'a maintenant.

"C'est sur le campus que se trouve la clef su mystere de la disparation de notre fille", pense M. Allore.

This was "le pire" for my parents, "the worst". They got no help when they went to Quebec. The investigator was ineffectual, the school administration told them to go home, everyone was playing amateur psychologist - Was Theresa a troubled child? Was she pregnant? Did Theresa need theropy?; was she a lesbian? They asked my parents if she was adopted, were my parents happily married? Total bullshit, mom and dad got so fed up they hired a private detective - then things really began to come to light (more on that later). 

De meme, il a fallu pres d'une semaine avant que certaines compagnes de Theresa porte a l'attention de la Surete municipale son adsence prolongee et inexpliquee.

M. et Mne Allore, qui demeurent somme toute confiants de retrouver leur fille sous peu et qui n'affichent pas trop l'anxiete qui les tenaille depuis plusieurs jours, ont l'intention de regagner en fin de semaine leur domicile de St-John.

Marie depuis bientot 20 ans, le couple Allore souhaite que leur fille soit de retour avant leur depart.

Ya. Sadly this never happened

Du cote policier, l'enqueteur Leo Hamel a repris les recontres avec les amis de Theresa et les personnes susceptibles de l'avoir recontree dans la soiree de vendredi. On croit qu'elle pourrait avoir ete apercue du long d'une route a faire de l'auto-stop, portant un long chandail en laine beige.

Toutes les informations concernant cette affaire peuvent etre acheminees au directeur Leo Hamel a son bureau de la Surete, situe a l'hotel de ville de Lennoxville.

Footnote: November 16th is a bad day. On this day in 1999, Julie Surprenant disappeared from a bus-stop in Terrebonne, Quebec. Most believe Julie is dead, her body never found. The lead suspect in her disappearance is Richard Bouillon, currently serving ten years for various sexual transgressions.

Student Missing

The Touchstone
November 16, 1978

The Touchstone was a student newspaper. After the initial article in The Record on November 13th, professional English publications never mentioned the case again until five months later when her body was found.

Champlain student Theresa Allore has been missing since last Nov. 3. She was last seen at Dewhurst Dining Hall at approximately 6:00 pm. The first year student is described as being approximately 5'6" tall and weighing 115 pounds, with red frizzy hair and blue eyes. 

FTR: Theresa's hair was a recent perm and a die-job

She was last reported to be wearing a T-shirt and blue cords and was distinguished by a long beige sweater and black chinese sandals. Any information concerning the nineteen-year-old's disappearance should be reported to Bill Matson, campus principal of Champlain College. The College is working on an intensive search in conjunction with the Lennoxville Police.

Curious that they are told to report to Bill Matson instead of the police - though this could be a natural thing. FYI: Matson came from the U.S. Army where he worked in Army Intelligence. His motto was "I know when to keep my eyes wide and my mouth shut. Matson was master of information and wanted to keep everything he learned close to the chest, especially in the matter of a missing student, lest blame fall on the college. Also note: the "intensive search" was a sham. When my brother suggested to Matson that a search should be undertaken, Matson's response was - and I quote - "I'm not going to turn this campus upside down for some goddam kid".

Police had no comment on the disappearance of the Compton resident but urge anyone who has seen or heard anything to bring it immediately to the attention of Matson as all information is vital.

I strongly doubt the police wanted information filtered through the school officials.

Mise à jour: 16/11/2004 08h33

THIS IN TODAY'S QUEBEC PRESS

Disparition
Julie Surprenant: cinq ans déjà

Triste anniversaire aujourd'hui: il y a cinq ans, le 16 novembre 1999, disparaissait Julie Surprenant, 16 ans.

L'adolescente originaire de l'île Saint-Jean, à Terrebonne, a été vue pour la dernière fois alors qu'elle descendait d'un autobus près de l'appartement où elle habitait.

Hier, le père de Julie s'est joint à trois pères dont les enfants ont aussi été victimes d'actes criminels.

Les quatre hommes ont rencontré le ministre de la Justice, Jacques Dupuis, pour lui demander de l'aide pour les familles des victimes d'actes criminels.

Pour l'instant, cette aide se résume à l'octroi de 600 dollars. Le ministre de la Justice a cependant promis de mieux encadrer psychologiquement les proches des victimes.

En vidéo, écoutez le commentaire de Claude Poirier.

Hello? hello?... is this thing on?

I'll let the cat-out-of-the-bag... W-Five is visiting me today and tomorrow in North Carolina. W-Five is like "20-20" for Canadians. They are doing an hour-long show on Theresa's murder; today I get to walk around as they film me going about my business - See? this guy's normal; he's not the crackpot we all thought he was.

Tomorrow I sit down for an extended interview with Sandy Rinaldo (that's the Diane Sawyer of Canada). They've already talked with my brother and later this week their interviewing my folks in Saint John, New Brunswick (a first - my parents have been silent about all of this for 25 years).

I think it will air sometime in January, 2005 - but you never know with these tv people.

I have to go get ready for my close-up.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2004

QUEBEC JUSTICE MINISTER AGREES TO FINANCE A VICTIMS ASSOCIATION FOR FAMILIES OF HOMICIDE

Oh, well done Pierre!

Families of Quebec murder victims to help others in same situation
Canadian Press
November 15, 2004

QUEBEC -- The Quebec government will provide some financial support to help several families of murder victims start a support group to help others in the same situation.

Four families who had sons or daughters murdered met with Justice Minister Jacques Dupuis on Monday. Dupuis didn't make public the amount the support group would receive.

Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, whose 22-year-old daughter Julie was raped and murdered in Sherbrooke in 2002, was among those who met with Dupuis.

Boisvenu said the group's goal is to help other families, offer advice and share experiences.

"We will ask those families, `Do you need some kind of support. Do you need some kind of preparation to meet the media. Do you know about the justice system''' he said.

The families who met with Dupuis also are lobbying for better compensation for the families of murder victims, stiffer penalties for killers and tougher parole conditions.

------------------------------

Québec aidera financièrement l'Association des familles victimes d'actes criminels

Mise à jour le lundi 15 novembre 2004, 12 h 24 .

Le ministre de la Justice du Québec, Jacques Dupuis, a indiqué lundi matin, que Québec apportera une aide financière à l'Association des familles victimes d'actes criminels. 

Le ministre Dupuis a fait cette annonce après avoir rencontré quatre pères de victimes d'actes criminels, dont Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu et Marcel Bolduc, dans ses bureaux de Montréal. Le montant accordé n'a pas été dévoilé.

L'association a pour objectif d'apporter différents services d'aide aux familles, sans toutefois se substituer aux services que fournissent déjà les centres d'aide aux victimes d'actes criminels (CAVAC) ou les centres d'aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel (CALAC).

L'organisme veut plutôt apporter un soutien direct aux familles éplorées dans les premiers moments suivant une disparition ou un meurtre, en les informant sur le processus judiciaire et en les préparant à affronter les médias.

L'instigateur du projet, Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, a qualifié la rencontre de « très satisfaisante ». « On a été écouté et on a été compris », a-t-il déclaré.

L'aide de Québec, dit-il, doit notamment permettre à l'association d'entrer en contact avec quelque 750 familles qui ont été victimes d'un acte criminel au cours des 15 dernières années. L'association invite d'ailleurs les familles concernées à lui écrire à l'adresse de courriel suivante : afvacq@hotmail.com.

L'organisme acheminera par ailleurs une demande de financement au Fonds d'aide aux victimes d'actes criminels. « Il ne fait aucun doute que la société doit faire écho aux drames que [les familles] ont vécus », a dit le ministre Dupuis.

La rencontre avec le ministre Dupuis s'est déroulée en présence des pères de Julie Boisvenu assassinée en juin 2002, d'Isabelle Bolduc, assassinée en 1996, de Cathy Caretta, étranglée en 1998, et de Julie Suprenant, qui est disparue depuis 1999.

Lennox Redux

For those of you who don't speak French, I'll talk you through it

La Surete de Lennoxville s'interroge toujours sur le sort de Theresa Allore

LA TRIBUNE, SHERBROOKE
MARDI 14 NOVEMBRE, 1978

LENNOXVILLE - La Surete municipale de Lennoxville s'interroge toujour sur le sort de Theresa Allore, jeune edutiante de 19 ans du College regional Champlain de cette localite, portee disparue dupuis vendredi dernier.

That one's pretty clear

Jusqu'a maintenant, devait avouer hier M. Leo Hamel, directeur de la Surete municipale de Lennoxville et responsable de l'enquete, peu d'informations permettent aux policiers d'avoir des indices sur ce qui aurait pu survenir a la jeune Allore, dupuis la derniere fois qu'elle a ete vue, soit vendredi le 3 novembre.

eleven days later, the police begin their investigation

M. Hamel a indique hier qu'il est a completer son enquete qui a consiste, presque essentiellement a recontrer des amis ou des personnes qui auraient pu en savoir plus long sur les allees et venues de la collegienne.

Hamel's investigation consisted of only questioning students - no locals, no school faculty, no adults

Des indices recueillis au cours de son enquete, le directeur du service de police a pratiquement ecarte l'hypothese d'une fugue; d'ailleurs, hier M. Hamel etudiait l'opportunite de declencher une operation de ratissage dans les bois environnants avec la collaboration de la Surete du Quebec, ce qui confirme que les policiers de Lennoxville craignent le pire.

Hamel's running on the theory that she is a "fugue" - a runnaway, but when pressed, he's forced to admit that he wants to search the nearby woods - fearing "le pire", the worst. Hamel requests manpower from the Surete du Quebec and local officials, but he is denied the help. The town goes cheap on the investigation and the police never conduct any kind of search.

Mlle Theresa Allore mesure cinq pieds et six pouces et pese 110 livres. Elle a les cheveux longs frises de couleur roux, les yeux bleus et une legere cicatrice au front.

Theresa had a small scar on her forehead; this discription gives the impression she was gastly disfigured

Au moment de sa disapparition Mlle Therea Allore habitait la residence du Kings Hall a Compton.

no one is searching Compton because, as of yet, no one has come forward to place her there on the night of November 3rd.

C'est son frere Andre qui a rapporte la disparition aux policiers vendredi.

That must have been an aweful day

Les personnes qui se croient en mesurede fournir aux enqueteurs des informations au sujet de Mlle Allore depuis le moment de sa disparition sont pres d'entrer en communication avec M. Leo Hamel au quartier-general de la Surete municipale de Lennoxville.

People quickly get the impression that Hamel is a nincompoop; a nice guy, but totally ineffectual, and incapable of handling the situation. Little is ever reported to him.

Historical rhetorical

This - the first announcement of her disappearance - a full 10 days after she was last seen.

Girl 19, missing

Sherbrooke Record
Monday, November 13th, 1978

LENNOXVILLE (BP)
- Municipal police continue their search for 19-year-old Theresa Allre, a Champlain Regional College student who disappeared Friday, Nov. 3 from the local campus.

Authorities began their investigation last Friday when the girl's brother, Andre, reported she was last seen about 6 p.m. in the cafeteria on the Bishop's - Champlain campus wearing blue corduroy slacks, a white t-shirt, a long beige sweater and sandals. She was living at King's Hall residence in Compton at the time of her disappearance.

Ms. Allore is about 5'7" and weighs 105 lbs. She has blue eyes, long red frizzy hair, a1/2" scar on her forehead and is English-speaking.

Anyone with information concerning this young woman is asked to contact Lennoxville Police Director Leo Hamel at 569-9388 or 562-8333 as soon as possible.

A bitter-sweet day

Twenty-six years ago on this day, November 11th, my parents informed me that my sister was missing.

However, this has been greatly remedied by the birthday of our youngest child, Ava, who turns one today.

Happy Birthday, Ava!

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2004

Does anyone keep the memory of Louise Chaput?

This from an online hiking forum published last year

------------------------------------------------------

Two Years Later - Posters Back Up in Pinkham Notch
November 21 2003 at 3:33 PM

Posters asking the public's help in solving the two-year-old murder of Canadian hiker Louise Chaput have sprouted up around the area where her body was found.

"We just want to keep it alive," said Marie Pinault. "I'd like to know what happened."

Pinault and her husband, Denis Masson, travelled to northern New Hampshire from their home in Ottawa last weekend to put up more than 250 posters from Berlin to North Conway and from Lancaster to Colebrook. The poster displays two pictures of Chaput and asks anyone with information about her death to contact police.

State police Sgt. Chuck West said the case remains open and police check out any new leads that surface. But he said there are no suspects.

Last Saturday was the second anniversary of the last day anyone saw Chaput alive.

After a massive search, Chaput's body was found on Thanksgiving, less than a half-kilometre from the AMC visitors centre. She had been stabbed, and some media reports said her throat had been slashed.

Chaput's backpack and the keys to her car have not been found.

West said there was some question about why Chaput would have taken her backpack and sleeping bag if she was just going on a short hike.

Police looked at theories that Chaput may have been killed by one of her clients. She specialized in marital counselling and had worked with inmates at a Sherbrooke detention centre.

M. Boisvenu obtient une rencontre

Claude Plante
La Tribune
Sherbrooke

Le père de Julie Boisvenu, Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu vient de franchir une étape de plus vers la formation d'une Association de parents de victimes d'actes criminels au Québec.

Avec d'autres pères d'enfants qui ont été assaillis par des criminels, il rencontrera le ministre de la Justice, Jacques Dupuis.La rencontre est prévue pour lundi prochain.M. Boisvenu doit être accompagné entre autres de Marcel Bolduc, père d'Isabelle, jeune femme de Sherbrooke qui a aussi été tuée par des criminels.Rappelons que Hugo Bernier, 30 ans, a été reconnu coupable d'avoir enlevé, séquestré, agressé sexuellement puis tué froidement Julie Boisvenu en juin 2002 à Sherbrooke.

A meeting with the justice minister is very big. This new association includes some high profile Quebec victims. In addition to M. Bolducand Boisvenu, there are the parents of Julie Surprenant, myself ,Chantel Dube and members of RIVCO (victims from the biker wars)

|

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2004

After years in the shadows, and motivated by the actions of Pierre Boisvenu, Marcel Bolduc - the father of Isabelle Bolduc, who was murdered in Sherbrooke in 1996 - has decided to come forward and advocate for victims rights.

Marcel Bolduc reprend du service
Evelyne Leblanc
La Tribune
Sherbrooke

Le verdict dans le procès d'Hugo Bernier, reconnu coupable du meurtre au premier degré de Julie Boisvenu, a convaincu Marcel Bolduc de reprendre du service pour la cause des victimes d'acte criminel et du resserrement du système de libérations conditionnelles.

"Je constate qu'il y a toujours, après huit ans, les mêmes lacunes dans le système des libérations conditionnelles et dans l'encadrement des détenus qui obtiennent une telle liberté. J'avais pris du recul depuis quelques années, mais j'ai choisi de ne plus rater une occasion de m'impliquer dans ces dossiers pour améliorer notre système", explique M. Bolduc.

Il y a huit ans, sa fille Isabelle payait de sa vie les lacunes du système de remise en liberté conditionnelle. Enlevée, séquestrée, agressée sexuellement puis battue à mort, elle avait été retrouvée sans vie dans un champ de Fleurimont, non loin du chemin Duplessis, à l'été 1996. 

Ses agresseurs étaient, tout comme Hugo Bernier, en probation pour des crimes dont ils avaient été reconnus coupables.

It is my understanding that Marcel Bolduc will be joining Pierre Boisvenu in a meeting on November 15th with Quebec's minister of justice.

ancy Saint Pierre, your fifteen minutes are up

And to think I shed a tear over all of this

It was Mom's fault: Julie
'This isn't about settling a score'. Townships teen who vanished for 3 years tells her side of story in new book

SIDHARTHA BANERJEE and ANN CARROLL
The Gazette

Friday, October 29, 2004

A bitter Julie Bureau lashed out at her mother yesterday as the principal person who drove her into exile in Beauceville for three years.

The trouble between mother and daughter will be one of the issues Bureau will address as the 17-year-old prepares to release her book, La Vraie Julie Bureau (The Real Julie Bureau), on Sunday. Bureau called her mother a controlling woman and a source of psychological harassment in her life.

Reached yesterday at her home in Milan, Bureau's mother, Francine Poulin, said she is not happy with what's she's read of the book thus far.

But Poulin said she forgives her daughter for painting her parents - Poulin especially - in a bad light.

"We see that she is very unhappy," Poulin said. "She doesn't realize what she is doing."

Poulin hopes eventually for a reconciliation.

"When I last talked to Julie in mid-August, she said we wanted to control her life," Poulin said.

"I told her, 'You are so negative, and can only see the dark side of things. In a few years, when you see the good in life, we will talk again.' "

Bureau was 14 when she disappeared in September 2001 from a Coaticook restaurant. She ended up in Beauceville, about 60 kilometres from the family home in Milan, where she moved in with Jean-Paul Bernard, 38.

Bureau said she feels rejected by her parents and nothing has changed since she left. Bureau said that in interviews, her mother would profess how much she loves her but then would take a much more harsh tone when they met.

"I don't understand ... if you love your children, you don't just tell the cameras," Bureau said, her eyes welling up with tears.

"This isn't about settling a score," Bureau insisted during a press conference yesterday, sitting side by side with Bernard, the man who took her in for three years.

"I had to free myself. It feels good. It's not a battle. I'm happy that (the book) was my therapy."

The book gives few details of what Bureau was doing in the three years she was living in Beauceviile under the name Nancy Saint Pierre. It does say she was working and living a normal existence until her discovery last July.

Bureau and Bernard, who says he knew nothing about Bureau's real identity until this summer, are not romantically involved, both have said.

Bernard, the man dubbed the Good Samaritan in this case, will have a book published on his own life early next year by the same author, Andre Mathieu.

Despite the fact she was wary of the media attention given to her case, Bureau says she felt the book was necessary to help turn a page in her life.

While she said money was furthest from her mind when she agreed to the deal, she hasn't ruled out making a movie about her life, either.

"It is my book. I'm the one who decided to do it. No one forced me to write this."

IVAC

IVAC
Indemnisation des victimes d'actes criminels

October 12, 2004

File: Theresa Marie Allore
Date of Event: November 3, 1978

Re: Acknowledgement of receipt

Mr. Allore

I am in receipt of your September 28th 2004 e-mail.

Each and every time we spoke with the investigator we did receive full cooperation and all the available pertinent answers to our questions. So, the "problem" (and there is no problem) is certainly not in relation to communication. The point is that there is a pending investigation by the Surete du Quebec in relation to your sister's death. I do understand from what the investigators told us that the pending investigation and the results (if there are some results) will enable us to decide if your sister was indeed "murdered". The applicable rule of evidence at this place is "proponderance of probabilities".

In other words, it means that the criterias for the application of the (Quebec) Crime Victims Compensation Act are not met at this moment. Otherwise, I would have already made a decision. You do understand that the delays have nothing to do with the limits (the financial limits) of the program.

Your's Truly,

Andre Beaulieu, Lawyer
514-906-3019, poste 2050

-----------------------------------------------
October 19, 2004

Mr. Beaulieu:

I am in receipt of your letter dated October 12, 2004. May I ask, when you say, that in my sister's case "the criterias for the application of the Quebec Crime Victims Compensation Act are not met at this moment"...

Just what are those criterias that I need to have fulfilled? Or, in other words, what are the criteria for being considered a victim under this Act?

The coroner determined my sister's death to be "mort violente de nature indetermine"...

The coroner noted there were "marks of strangulation on her neck"

What does it take for an IVAC lawyer to consider my sister a victim of a crime?

Yours,

John Allore

Jacques P. Dupuis
Ministère de la Justice
Palais de justice de Montréal
1, rue Notre-Dame Est
11e étage, Bureau 11.39
Montréal (Québec) H2Y1B6

October 14, 2004

M. Dupuis:

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is John Allore. Twenty-six years ago my sister was murdered in Quebec while a student at Champlain college in Lennoxville. Over the past two years I have become a victims advocate for families touched by homicide.

The purpose of my writing you is to introduce you to CAVA, a new national victims advocacy group and to ask you to please help in providing financial support to get Quebec victims to attend CAVA's first annual conference to be held this December in Richmond, British Columbia.

CAVA is the Canadian Association for Victim Assistance / Association Canadienne aide aux victmes (CAVA - ACAV), a newly formed national non-profit charitable organization which will act as an umbrella information, resource and advocacy service for Canadian victim assistance organizations, advocates, professionals and the general public. Further information is available at our website,www.infocava.ca .

In organizing our conference we are thankful for the financial support provided by Justice Canada. Unfortunately, they were not able to give us any financial assistance for travel. We are asking that your office provide that assistance in the form of $3,000 that will be used specifically to cover the costs for air travel and accommodations for Quebec victims. I must stress that none of this money will be used by myself; I no longer live in Quebec, and at this time I am able to provide for my own needs.

It is important for Quebec to have a presence at this, our first national conference; more necessary that Quebec victims have the ability to express their questions and needs at a national level. I hope you will be able to help us to this end.

I will be in Quebec the week of October 25th through the 29th attending l'Association quebecoise Plaidoyer-Victimes colloque in Montreal. It would be a privilege for me if at that time we might arrange to meet to discuss this matter at greater length.

I thank you for your attention to this matter and I hope to hear from you soon.

Respectfully,

AGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

September 27th, 2004

Mr. John Allore
Carrboro, NC

File of: Theresa Marie Allore
Date of Event: 1978-11-03

Sir,

I aknowledge receipt of your September a6th 2004 e-mail.

No decision has been made yet. In this case, as I told you before, I need to wait for more complete information from the Surete du Quebec before making a decision.

I really do not know when I will be able to finalize the study of your claim.

Yours Truly,

Andre Beaulieu
Lawyer
Legal Department
Direction de l'IVAC
1-800-561-4822

--------------------------------------------------------------------

September 28th, 2004

M. Beaulieu:

I received your fax about my sister's case (120-192-927). You say you are waiting for information from the Surete. This is a rather passive position. Can you contact them and get them to move forward please. When I last spoke with Norman Kelly of
the SQ he told me he had given you all the information you require, so obviously there are some communication problems here.

It is insufficient for you to tell me you cannot tell me when you can finalize my claim. I have been waiting since January 2004 (actually, I have been waiting longer than this: 26 years).

This is a cut and dried situation. She was murdered, she was burried. You asked for an estimate of the funeral expenses, I gave them to you. I am talking about $600 in compensation; a modest sum, this really should not tax the limits of your legal resources.

Please act on this matter with more urgency, you are truly testing my patience in this matter.

Sincerely,

John Allore

Surprise, surprise... he had kiddie-porn on his hard-drive.

DALZELL FACES NEW CHARGES

BY EREN TATARAGASI AND RYAN C. TUCK
STAFF WRITERS
Daily Tarheel
September 24, 2004

Andrew Douglas Dalzell was scheduled to make his first court appearance
Thursday at the Orange County District Court in Hillsborough.

But Dalzell, who is charged with one count of second-degree murder in the
1997 disappearance of Deborah Leigh Key, did not appear in court.

A Carrboro police arrest report for Thursday shows that Dalzell was
being placed under arrest at noon, the same time he was scheduled to appear in
Hillsborough.

According to reports, Dalzell was arrested Thursday and charged with
six counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor - a felony
crime.

District Attorney Carl Fox said charges of third-degree sexual
exploitation stem from "possessing visual representations of minors engaging in
sexual acts."

Dalzell was placed under arrest at the Orange County Jail, where he was
already being held, and placed under a $20,000 secured bond.

According to Carrboro police reports, the warrant on charges of sexual
exploitation was issued Tuesday.

Dalzell was already being held under a secured bond of $70,000 on a
charge of second-degree murder in relation to Key's disappearance Dec. 1,
1997.

He was arrested Sept. 9 at a residence in Stanley.

Police had executed a warrant to search his Royal Park apartment Sept.
2 in Carrboro after his name surfaced in connection with charges of larceny by
an employee.

Investigators said the property seized Sept. 2 was critical in his
arrest but have refused to comment to its exact nature.

Dalzell had been the primary suspect in Key's disappearance and
presumed death since the last time she was seen.

Dalzell and Key were seen together outside Sticks & Stones, a
now-defunct pool hall in downtown Carrboro, after it closed the morning of Dec.
1, according to court affidavits.
Police searched Dalzell's car April 3,
1998, but could not find enough evidence to charge him in Key's disappearance
until Sept. 9.

Fox said Thursday was administrative probable cause day, which allowed
defendants not wishing to plead guilty to miss their first appearance.

Dalzell has yet to make a plea, Fox said. The date of his first
appearance is now set for Oct. 7.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2004

Crap, I new I shouldn't have agreed to this...

Man's 'Bad Dream House' brings peace, gives purpose 

By BETH VELLIQUETTE : The Herald-Sun
Sep 18, 2004 : 7:56 pm ET 

CARRBORO -- John Allore calls his old home the "Bad Dream House," but in a strange way the house that gave him nightmares also gave him a new purpose in life. 

Although he works in Durham as the city's treasury manager and lives in Carrboro with his family, Allore is a well-known victim's advocate in Canada. He speaks to groups there about his experiences with the Bad Dream House and how it served as a catalyst for him to return to Canada and investigate the 1978 disappearance and death of his sister, Theresa, in Quebec. 

Allore also will be on a panel at the Unicorn Bereavement Center in Hillsborough next month during a workshop for professionals who work with people who have lost someone to homicide. 

A tall, congenial man, with a sometimes wicked sense of humor, Allore enjoys his other life in Canada, where he's known as a feisty advocate who isn't afraid to take on the police establishment. In the Chapel Hill area, people are more likely to know him as the managing director and an actor with the Deep Dish Theater company at University Mall. 

Allore, who was raised in Quebec, married a Chapel Hill woman and after moving around the country for a number of years, they returned to the area and bought the house west of Carrboro in April of 2000. As Allore wrote in his blog, baddreamhouse.blogspot.com, it was a creepy house when he and his wife first went to look at it. Yet the house that made them fear every sound and wake from deep sleep with their hearts pounding, eventually would change Allore's life, and in a way bring him peace. 

When they first saw it, the walls were covered with drawings of fantasized nude women, and all types of weapons hung on the walls. The floor was covered with old pizza boxes, cigarette packs and butts and crushed soft drink cans. There were knife marks in the floor, in the walls and on the doors inside the house, and when they went to look at the house before they bought it, they discovered someone was sleeping there. They found out later that someone was Andrew Douglas Dalzell. 

On Sept. 10, Dalzell was charged with the second-degree murder of Deborah Leigh Key, who was last seen in downtown Carrboro on the morning of Dec. 1, 1997. 

But back in 2000, when Allore and his wife were looking for a fixer-upper to buy, they didn't know that "the lump" they saw sleeping during their afternoon visit to the house was the prime suspect in the disappearance and death of woman. 

They bought the house in a neighborhood off Hatch Road, and began cleaning it and fixing it up. 

A call from the police 

Four weeks after they moved in, the Carrboro police called and asked if they could come out to the house to look for a dead body. 

"There are times when you realize life is trying to tell you something," Allore wrote in his blog. "This was one of those times." 

Allore and his family allowed police to look around the house, and two weeks later the cops brought a cadaver dog to search the grounds. "Joining them for the proceedings were various patrol officers, the county sheriff's department, a big fat agent from the State Bureau of Investigation, a team of forensic technicians and the gang from Pee Wee's Septic Tank Service," Allore wrote in his blog. 

The dog searched the grounds, and Pee Wee and the gang sucked everything out of the septic tank but they didn't find any evidence in the tank. Then suddenly the dog began to scratch in the dirt in the crawl space under the house. 

Officers dug in the dirt, and it soon became obvious nothing had been buried there, but they suspected that maybe a body had been there before being moved. 

The officers, the forensic team, the dog and the gang from Pee Wee's left. But that was the beginning of nightmares for Allore and his family. "I dreamed about rotting corpses all the time," he wrote in the blog. "I couldn't stop thinking about it." 

Allore couldn't stop thinking about Deborah Key, either. "I became very obsessed with Deborah Key and her murder," he said. "I was the last one to really figure out what was going on. It was my wife who suggested, 'Don't you think you should be doing something with your kin rather than somebody you don't even know?'" 

The irony is that Allore became obsessed with Key when the real mystery in his life was what happened to his own sister, Theresa, who went missing from her college in Quebec on Nov. 3, 1978. Her body was found face down in a cold creek near the school on April 13, 1979. 

The police then, Allore said, did little to investigate the circumstances of her disappearance or her death. They told Allore's family that she probably died from a drug overdose. Allore was 14 years old at the time. 

Once Allore's wife suggested he should direct his energies to finding out about his own sister, Allore contacted an old high school friend, Patricia Pearson, who had become an accomplished crime writer. Allore simply wanted to find out what the police knew about his sister's disappearance and death. He was surprised to discover there wasn't much to find out. 

Five months of investigation 

The police in the area had done a miserable job of investigation, and no one seemed to care very much that a 19-year-old woman had been missing and later found dead. 

Allore and Pearson went to work, even though the police didn't cooperate with them or initially allow them to have access to the case file. 

It took them five months of investigation, but Allore and Pearson came to believe that Theresa had been killed by a serial killer. They discovered that two other young women had been missing and later found dead in the same general area of Quebec within a 19-month period. They also came up with the names of two possible suspects. 

At the conclusion of their investigation, Pearson wrote a long article that appeared in August 2002 in The National Post, Canada's national newspaper. The article gave a detailed description of their search for what really happened to Theresa. 

Finally in November 2002, the police in Quebec announced they would launch a full investigation into the death of Theresa Allore. No charges have been filed against anyone in the case. 

Her brother, however, has turned his battle to victim's rights and the rights of their families. He heard about a symposium sponsored by the Canadian Department of Justice called "Moving Forward, Lessons Learned from the Victims of Crime." 

The forum was to be held on Nov. 3, 2003, the 25th anniversary of his sister's death. "I had to get in on that," he said. 

But when he called up to ask if he could participate, he was told it was not open to victims. 

That just didn't sit right with Allore, so he and another man whose daughter had been murdered in Canada went to the conference anyway and staged a protest outside, which received media attention. 

"From that I made the inner circle of victim advocates in Canada," he said. 

Last June, Allore spoke at a conference sponsored by Police Victim Services of British Columbia and made a presentation called, "25 Good Things Revealed Probing the Death of My Sister."

In December, he'll return to Vancouver and present at the Canadian Association for Victim Assistance, a group and conference he helped organize. This time, real victims will have a voice, Allore said. 

Families of victims want answers, support and help from professionals trained to deal with their unique problems, he explained. In many cases, that support is provided by volunteers who may be sympathetic but just don't have the proper training. 

Allore would like to see to see a system in which professionals are accredited to provide services for victims and their families. "We can empower those people at that level or victims will continue to be bottom feeders in the legal justice system," Allore said. "They already don't have a voice in the justice system. We should give them the tools to find answers." 

As he revisited the death of his own sister in recent years, he found that he needed a little help. Carrboro Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison recommended he visit the Unicorn Bereavement Center in Hillsborough. 

He did, and got to know Linda Jordan, manager of the center. Now he's agreed to speak at an Oct. 18 workshop there called, "The Worst has Happened; What Now? Working with clients who have lost someone to homicide." 

The workshop is designed to provide clinicians with understanding and insight for working with people who are not only experiencing grief but also the trauma associated with murder. 

Now when Allore looks back at the scary house he once owned west of Carrboro, he sees it in a different light. "That whole episode did me a great service," he said. 

For more information about Allore's work, go to his Web site and read his blogs at: www.whokilledtheresa.com.

Folks... enough already... The title, "Bad Dream House" was intended to be funny. It's a joke? The Simpsons first Treehouse of Horror was called Bad Dream House? Git-it?

Wouldn't surprise me one little bit

Military probes links between soldiers, biker gangs

Last Updated Mon, 30 Aug 2004 20:03:00 EDT 

MONTREAL - The Canadian military has launched a series of investigations into possible links between members of the armed forces and biker gangs such as Hells Angels. 

Military police confirmed reports on Monday that a number of probes have been carried out, including one sparked by the theft of eight pairs of night vision goggles from CFB Valcartier near Quebec City last year. 

Biker experts say criminal gangs have been trying to recruit soldiers because of their special training with explosives, guns and other equipment. 

A former investigator with the Quebec provincial police said the force has been talking with military police since at least 1998 about connections between soldiers and biker gangs after names started popping up during investigations. 

"There's some guys who do their service with the military police or do their training with the special force who've been hired or were on the program with the Hells Angels," Guy Ouellette said. 

Military police admit they're concerned about the linkages because many soldiers have training on a variety of weapons systems and also have access to the equipment. 

However, spokesman Capt. Mark Giles said cases of military personnel having unsavoury links are rare. 

"In many cases it may just simply be a bumper sticker or other things that indicate there may be some sympathies in that direction," Giles said, adding that when situations do cause concern they're closely monitored. 

The military said it can't prohibit soldiers from associating with bikers because doing so would infringe on their civil rights.

Sssssslllllloooooowwwww Justice

It took 10-years to dismiss this guy? What's wrong with this picture?

Court upholds firing of SQ officer
Police ethics commission ruling stands. SWAT-team member used excessive force, including putting gun in suspect's mouth
 
ALLISON HANES
The Gazette

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

A Quebec Court judge upheld last month the firing of a Surete du Quebec SWAT-team member for striking a handcuffed suspect in the face and placing a loaded service revolver in his mouth while making an arrest in 1994.

After a lengthy disciplinary hearing, the police ethics commission found Cpl. Bernard Bourgouin guilty of using disproportionate force in 2002 and stripped him of his badge in 2003.

Bourgouin appealed the conviction and the sanction, but last month a court judge ruled that the ethics commission's ruling was supported by the evidence and that the punishment meted out was reasonable.

"Dismissal is the most severe sanction set out in the law governing police," Quebec Court Judge Armando Aznar wrote. "At the same time, the ethical violation the appellant was found guilty of is extremely serious."

During the course of a police raid in St. Etienne de Bolton on June 2, 1994, Normand Beaulieu was apprehended by an officer he later identified as Bourgouin.

After being handcuffed, Beaulieu said he was told to "shut his mouth." He said he was dealt a blow to the face, with a closed fist or a pistol, that fractured his cheekbone.

The arresting officer then took out his gun and placed its barrel in Beaulieu's mouth - supposedly in the name of extracting information on where other suspects were hiding.

The ethics commission ruled nothing justified this extreme use of force against Beaulieu, who was slightly built, handcuffed at the time, and not posing a threat to the arresting officer.

But Bourgouin appealed on grounds that it took the better part of a decade for the wheels of justice to churn out a decision, including nearly two years from the date of the incident for Beaulieu and the lawyer he hired to finger him and lodge a formal complaint.

Bourgouin contested Beaulieu's ability to identify him as the assailant. He also questioned why the ethics panel believed the complainant's word over that of several SQ officers who offered testimony that exonerated him.

But Aznar pointed out that the arbiters based their ruling on the fact that Beaulieu told a fairly consistent story, while the officers who testified drew memory blanks, claimed not to have seen anything and were only co-

operative with their accused colleague's lawyer.

Bourgouin could still appeal the latest decision to a higher court.

I'm a steamroller baby...

So, what exactly is Irwin Cotler doing with the placement of two supreme court justices? Would a little debate on their appointment be oh so bad? This is Canada, right? The land of fairness? Not the land of totalitarianism? 

(no wonder I left this place.)

p.s. thank you, Jacques Dupuis for attempting to insert yourself in the process, as you should.

Tories blast 'sham' review of judges
Nominees should appear in person, Tory justice critic argues

CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - To hear Justice Minister Irwin Cotler tell it, his two choices to sit on Canada's top court can pretty much walk on water. And no one disagreed with him. 

The first-ever committee to review Supreme Court candidates aired no qualms today about Ontario Court of Appeal Justices Rosalie Abella and Louise Charron. 

In fact, the all-party advisory panel of seven MPs and two legal experts asked few questions about the judges themselves. 

Instead, opposition members on the interim panel spent much of a three-hour session venting frustration about the process. 

The interim committee has no veto power, did not see a short list of candidates before selections were made, and will issue a non-binding report on Friday. The appointments must then be made official by the prime minister any time after that. 

Conservative members had to settle for grilling Cotler after the Liberals nixed their request to quiz candidates in person. 

Conservative deputy leader Peter MacKay called the process "a sham" that breaks Prime Minister Paul Martin's promise to open the high-court selection system. 

`It's a joke," MacKay said after the hearing. "It's window dressing. It's lip service. It's just running it by us for some form of credibility that doesn't exist." 

Cotler said he wasn't about to risk judicial integrity by exposing high-court candidates to such queries as "When did you stop beating your wife?" 

MacKay called the comment "insulting" and said MPs never intended to turn the screenings into a political free-for-all. 

Still, much of Wednesday's hearing was a mix of grandstanding and partisan clashes. 

MacKay and Conservative justice critic Vic Toews lambasted Cotler for giving the panel 24 hours' notice, a three-hour televised hearing and just two days to report on the candidates. Abella and Charron weren't announced as nominees until Tuesday. 

Cotler, on the other hand, spent eight months researching potential nominees, consulting with judges and lawyers, and reviewing rulings. 

Toews called it a "rubber stamp" process that strips Canadians of their right to know their most powerful jurists. 

He called it "astounding" that the candidates were not even asked if they would appear before the committee. 

Cotler fired back that all parties agreed that only the justice minister would take questions on a contender's intellect, demeanour, racial awareness and other attributes. 

New Democrat MP Joe Comartin reminded Cotler that the Liberals weren't willing to negotiate on that point. 

MacKay called the hearing a pointless review of a done deal. Conservatives had little choice but to accept a lousy process and fight for future changes, he said. 

Cotler himself all but confirmed its irrelevance. 

It would take a lot to change his mind about Abella and Charron, he told the panel. 

"Only if you can provide any clear, authoritative evidence that would disqualify a person from serving." 

Both nominees are "outstanding," Cotler repeatedly said. 

The government tried to broaden public scrutiny of top-court appointments while protecting judicial independence, he said. 

Even before the hearing began, Toews noted that Abella and Charron are both known for judgments supporting same-sex rights. 

The nine-member Supreme Court will hold a milestone hearing in October on Liberal efforts to legalize same-sex marriage. Toews suggested a political connection. 

"It is clear for everyone to see that this is part of the prime minister's agenda" to allow gay weddings, he said. 

Cotler insisted that merit was his prime consideration when whittling down top candidates. 

He also dismissed suggestions from some quarters that Abella, a renowned defender of human rights, is soft on crime. 

"This has no basis in fact," Cotler said, citing a review of her judgments. 

He also torpedoed the idea that Abella may be the court's next great dissenter. Of 313 judgments since 1994, Abella dissented in 31 - or 10 per cent of cases, he said. 

Cotler also rejected a Quebec request for the federal government to choose from a list provided by the province to fill future vacancies from Quebec. 

In a letter sent Aug. 6 to Cotler, Quebec Justice Minister Jacques Dupuis and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Benoit Pelletier asked for "formal participation" by Quebec in the process. 

"We insist that we are part of the decisions," they wrote. 

But Cotler said selecting from a list provided by the province would infringe on the federal government's constitutional right to name justices.