Lachine murder victim identified as American drug queenpin

Drug queenpin Elizabeth Barrer, 32, was killed in Lachine on March 19.

A woman shot dead in Lachine on March 19 has been identified as Elizabeth Barrer, 32, a high-profile American fugitive long sought on drug charges.

Barrer was shot in the head on Pacific Ave. in the former Ville St. Pierre section of Lachine while sitting in her vehicle, which she had rented under a false identity.

Police needed over a week to identify the victim through her fingerprints.

Barrer - who was originally from Eastern Europe and could speak Russian - was wanted in the States since 2007 when she was sought for using the MySpace social network to organize marijuana shipments.

She appeared on several most wanted lists, as the volume of her drug-related activities - said to involve money laundering and a Ukraine connection - was sufficient to earn her the unofficial monicker of drug queenpin.

Her presence in Montreal remains a mystery to investigators who do know whether she came to Montreal to hide, or organize other drug trafficking.