Retired RCMP Officer Arrested After Fatal Val-des-Monts Fire

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Retired Member Charged with Murder

Dear Association Members,

The CBC is reporting on a shocking incident in Val-des-Monts, Quebec.

The article is reproduced below, we have no further information at this time.

James Forrest
Director of Communications
RCMP Veterans’ Association

Yvon Mercier charged with 2nd-degree murder in connection with deaths of man, woman in their 50s – CBC News · Posted: Feb 02, 2020 9:24 PM ET 

A 69-year-old retired RCMP officer has been charged with second-degree murder in the deaths two people found inside a burning home in Val-des-Monts, Que., on the weekend.

Firefighters responding to a house fire on rue Mercier around 3:30 p.m. Sunday discovered the bodies of Céline Labelle and Pierre Dupuis, both in their 50s. 

Yvon Mercier, 69, was arrested and charged Monday in connection with the deaths of Labelle and Dupuis.

It’s “possible” they died in the fire, a Sûreté du Québec spokesperson said in an interview with Radio-Canada on Sunday.

Mercier is a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who retired from the force in 2007. Officials say he, Labelle and Dupuis knew one another.

Community ‘in shock’Provincial police are working with MRC Collines-de-l’Outaouais police to investigate the deaths.

“This community is really tight-knit,” said Val-des-Monts Mayor Jacques Laurin. “We’re just in shock.”

The couple had lived in the area for a number of years and were known to neighbours, he said. 

The house where the bodies were found is about 20 kilometres northeast of downtown Ottawa-Gatineau.