Woman, 29, dies after domestic assault in LaSalle

A 29-year-old LaSalle woman has died in hospital from her injuries after a domestic violence incident on Saturday, according to Montreal police.

The woman, Rebekah Harry, was taken to hospital in critical condition and her 32-year-old boyfriend, found by police inside the apartment with the victim, was taken into custody shortly after the incident on Des Oblats Street.

Montreal police spokesperson Const. Raphaël Bergeron said on Tuesday that the charges against Brandon McIntyre have not changed yet. He currently faces charges of breach of conditions and aggravated assault.

Bergeron said an autopsy will be performed on the victim to determine the cause of her death and once that is done, prosecutors will decide if additional charges should be laid.

Court files show McIntyre has a lengthy criminal record, which includes various drug offences, not respecting court ordered conditions, and one case of criminal harassment.

After appearing on Tuesday morning, he will be back in court on Friday.

If Harry's death is confirmed to have been a homicide, the victim will be the seventh woman killed in the province this year.

Over the last several months, groups that help women get out of abusive relationships have warned the Quebec government that the pandemic and its restrictions would lead to an escalation of violence.

"The pandemic has been used by violent partners as a pretext to amplify control in the relationship," Claudine Thibaudeau told Radio-Canada. She is a social worker with SOS Violence conjugale.

"We feared that, we saw it," she said. "We have also seen many victims of domestic violence postpone thinking about a breakup until later."

Thibaudeau is particularly concerned that there will be a second wave of violence when sanitary measures end and workplaces reopen. That's when victims will once again consider announcing a breakup to their spouses, she said, and that could lead to violence.

"In almost any situation where there is spousal murder, it is in context of breakup or after the breakup, or when the relationship is called into question," Thibaudeau said.

The LaSalle incident occurred one day after a 40-year-old woman was found dead in a taxi alongside a man in Saint-Leonard.

In that case, Montreal police believe the 52-year-old man killed the woman before taking his own life early Friday morning as part of a domestic dispute.

In Canada in 2020, 160 women died from a violent act, which corresponds to one woman killed every two and a half days, according to the latest report by the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability released last week.