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Nearly 10 years after her killing, the Longueuil police have arrested a suspect in the death of Jenique Dalcourt.
Dalcourt, 23, was walking home from work in October 2014 when she was beaten to death on a poorly lit, wooded bike path.
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In a brief news conference Wednesday morning, police described the investigation as complex and said the arrest comes after a “colossal” effort from its cold-case division.
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“Our priority was always to seek the truth in this case to be able to give Jenique’s family answers and allow them to start their grieving process,” said Longueuil police chief inspector Pierre Duquette.
The suspect, Michael McDuff-Jalbert, is expected to appear at the Longueuil courthouse Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder. Now 35 years old, he was 26 at the time of the killing.
“The (Longueuil police) cannot release information about the investigation, nor explain in detail what allowed us to make an arrest, in order to not interfere with the judicial process,” Duquette said.
However, he noted that specific forensic science methods “allowed us to make progress in the investigation and obtain new elements that allowed the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions to lay charges against the suspect.”
Police had arrested a suspect following Dalcourt’s death in 2014, but he was released when the DPCP opted not to lay charges.
Police brought new evidence to prosecutors again one year later, but still no charges were laid.
On Wednesday, Duquette said the police force never gave up on the case and it’s that sustained effort that finally led to an arrest warrant.“
The (Longueuil police) confirm Michael McDuff-Jalbert is the only person targeted by that arrest warrant,” Duquette said. “We will now focus our efforts on the judicial process to come and work closely with the DPCP in the coming weeks and months to ensure justice is rendered in this case.”
This story will be updated.
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