Colleague of murder victim hopes for closure in 8-year-old case

CTV Ottawa: Police probe crime connection CTV's Joanne Schnurr with the latest on the possible links between a 2007 triple murder and Dec. 2014 home invasion suspect Ian Bush.

Ottawa Police remain tight-lipped about any possible break in an 8-year-old triple murder investigation.

Sources have told CTV News that police are looking at a possible connection between a recent home invasion against an elderly veteran and an unsolved triple murder from 2007. 59-year-old Ian Bush remains in custody awaiting his next appearance in court this Friday.

The case has generated a lot of interest; relatives and friends of the murder victims are hoping for some sense of closure.  For eight years, Vern Krishna has watched and waited for any development in the murders of Alban Garon, his wife Raymonde and their neighbour Marie-Claire Beniskos.

‘A brutal killing of three innocent people,’ says Krishna, who teaches tax law at the University of Ottawa. He was a colleague of Garon’s, a retired tax judge who was found dead, along with his wife and neighbour, in their high-end condo in 2007.

‘Frankly, I’d given up hope,’ Krishna told CTV new, ‘Frankly I thought this was one of those things that would never get resolved.  We hadn't heard anything for 7 or 8 years. From what I could read, there were no clues, until this thing came out of the blue.’

Sources say police believe there may be a connection between the robbery and attempted murder of 101-year-old vet Ernest Coté in December and the triple murder 8 years ago.

No one answered the door at Bush's home today but the case was certainly the talk of the neighbourhood.

‘Just discussing it with my neighbour,’ says Amanda Larabie, ‘never even knew we were that close to something like that so it's a little nerve wracking when you hear it.’

At the Riverside complex where the murders happened, there is renewed hope that a heinous crime could soon be solved.

Jean-Pierre Lurette is the brother of Raymonde Garon, who was one of those three murdered.  He still lives in the building where the murder happened, in fact was the one who discovered the bodies, after worrying about not hearing from his sister.  Now he is being advised by the Ottawa police not to do media interviews but he told CTV Ottawa over the phone that he is hoping that they have caught somebody, that this would bring closure for the family.’

Ian Bush's lawyer, meantime, says her client vehemently denies any connection to the Garon murders.

‘It’s a very difficult situation for anybody to be in,’ says Geraldine Castle-Trudel, ‘He doesn't need this frankly.’

Ian Bush remains in custody due to appear again in court on Friday when court should hear the results of a psychiatric assessment and perhaps learn more about whether new charges will be laid.