A suspect appeared in court on Wednesday for the killing of a young woman nearly a decade ago on Montreal’s South Shore.
Michael Mcduff-Jalbert was arrested on Tuesday and has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Jenique Dalcourt, who was struck and killed with an iron bar as she walked along a bike path in Longueuil, Que., on Oct. 21, 2014.
Mcduff-Jalbert, who was 26 at the time of Dalcourt’s killing, was arrested a few days after she was found dead, but he was released because police did not have enough evidence to keep him detained.
During a news conference Wednesday, Chief Insp. Pierre Duquette thanked experts at the province’s forensic laboratory for their help.
“Specific methods in the field of forensic science made it possible for (Longueuil police) to make progress in the investigation and gather additional elements,” he said, adding that new information allowed the prosecutor’s office to lay charges against the suspect.
“Our priority has always been to seek the truth in this case to get Jenique’s family answers, to allow them to begin their grieving process,” Duquette said.
The victim’s father, John Gandolfo, told reporters outside the courtroom that despite the killing of his daughter and the long wait for answers, Mcduff-Jalber’s arrest brings some relief to the family.
“The detectives on the murder case never gave up,” Gandolfo said. “Nothing will bring back Jenique, but this will give our family some degree of closure.”