Valerie Leblanc homicide
----Police request public help on 10-year old cold case
In the continued effort of identifying who killed 18-year-old student Valérie Leblanc near the CEGEP de l’Outaouais campus a decade ago, Gatineau Police (SPVG) recently put in place a command post outside the Cabane en Bois Rond community centre in Hull to solicit public information on the matter.
Recognizing the population’s help with the investigation so far and calling its contribution essential to solving the case, a press release issued by the SPVG on August 27, stated that the command post - which was in place on August 23 and 24 – saw around 30 people visit investigators on site with an additional 40 pieces of information provided to the police by phone or writing.
The SPVG says it has about 60 new pieces of data to work with, noting that all information transmitted needs to be analyzed and validated by SPVG investigators. “Every piece of information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could be used in the investigation and allow new leads to be explored,” the SPVG stated in the press release. “Residents are therefore invited to use their memory.”
Clarifying that all tips provided to police are kept confidential, the SPVG encourages people to contact its information like - (819) 243-4636, option 1 - or to fill out a form on the Gatineau City website. “Every piece of information counts,” the SPVG stated in the press release. The SPVG added that the Sun Youth Organization is offering an up to $10,000 reward to anyone who provides information that helps police find, arrest, and convict whomever is responsible for Leblanc’s murder – up until August 23, 2022.
A suspect profile published by the SPVG states that the perpetrator is likely a dark-haired, white male, aged between 20 and 30, measuring between five-foot ten and six-feet in height, who speaks French with no noticeable accent. Last seen without facial hair, wearing a baseball cap, and riding a black mountain bike with straight handle bars and large tires, it added that the suspect is believed to be of strong but not obese build with a small belly, big hands, and an unhealthy-looking olive skin complexion, with intimating and concerning attitude and a neglected appearance.
A little over 10 years ago - on August 23, 2011, at around noon - Leblanc’s body was discovered in a wooded area west of the CEGEP de l’Outaouais on 333 boulevard Cité-des-Jeunes in Hull. Seeing clear evidence of violence and blunt trauma on her body, police investigators determined that she was murdered. A resident of the region, Leblanc was a student at the CEGEP de l’Outaouais at the time.
At this point, the SPVG says to have received nearly 2,200 pieces of information from the public on the matter, and that investigators have met with hundreds of people in hopes of solving the case.
