An 18-year-old Quebec murder victim feared her ex-boyfriend and tried to seek help from police before her death, friends allege.
Daphne Boudreault died in hospital after she was found badly beaten Wednesday, in a home in Mont-St-Hilaire, southeast of Montreal.
Her ex-boyfriend, Anthony Pratte-Lops, was charged Thursday with first-degree murder. He will remain behind bars until his case returns to court April 19.
Boudreault’s colleague and friend, Shanon Meilleur, told CTV Montreal that Boudreault met with officers from the Richelieu-Saint-Laurent police department on the day she died. Boudreault told police she feared for her safety following a recent breakup.
Meilleur said that officers also met with Boudreault’s ex-boyfriend.
Meilleur alleges that Boudreault feared for her safety because her ex had been abusive.
“She told me, ‘What, does he have to kill me before the police do anything?’”
Meilleur said the suspect would call the convenience store where Boudreault worked “10 times a day yelling at her.” Meilleur said she knew there were “problems” but that Boudreault didn’t talk much about it before this week when she found her “in a ball … crying.”
Alexis Masse, Boudreault’s boyfriend at the time of her death, told reporters she was a wonderful woman with a huge heart.
A videotaped rant posted to Facebook appears to show Pratte-Lops wishing Boudreault “all the misfortune in the world.”
Quebec's bureau for independent investigations into police operations says it will examine the actions of the Richelieu Saint-Laurent municipal force and the events leading up to Boudreault’s death.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
With files from CTV Montreal and The Canadian Press
