Daniel Jolivet insists he's not a murderer and says he has proof
The gates of a Quebec prison slam shut behind us on a sunny day in December and after clearing security, I am sitting across from a convicted murderer.
Daniel Jolivet was found guilty of four murders more than three decades ago. He is a crook who tried to break out of Orsainville prison in 1993 by jumping off a roof. He is a thief with a long criminal record dating back to his first arrest when he was 14-years-old.
"I wasn't the kind of person that goes to church every day," he tells me.
We sit at a table in the visitors room, where we will talk for the next hour about his relentless efforts to prove he was wrongfully convicted. He has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested and says he did not have a fair trial.
Jolivet politely shakes my hand, smiles and comments on the ray of light coming in through the window. Then he sighs deeply, clearly nervous. He offers our crew bottles of water he has brought from his cell as he greets them.
Jolivet was convicted of the murders in 1994. That's the year O.J. Simpson drove his white Bronco along Los Angeles freeways during history's most-watched low speed police chase. It is the year Schindler's List won an Oscar too.
He is now a man in his sixties wearing suspenders who walks with a cane. He has lost the flowing brown hair that was so prominent in the photos of his pre-conviction days. He also talks faster than anyone I have ever met, in both official languages -- at times beginning a thought in English and finishing it in French.
Where sentences should end, his words trip over one another. He's racing to be heard after all these years. The thread is hard to follow and untangle at times. But, as I soon come to understand, Jolivet is compressing details he has turned over and over in his mind for 30 years into just one hour.
His lawyer, Lida Nouraie, has reminded him in an earlier phone call to speak from the heart, not to go on and on with details and to take deep breaths. But over the course of our interview, I often have to interrupt him, and guide him away from the mountains of minutiae he has accumulated in his mind.
CTV's Genevieve Beauchemin in an interview with Daniel Jolivet (W5)
The rest of his life, he says, is on the line. He dreams of a day he may walk out of prison, he tells me. But he knows life on the outside would be very different than the one he remembers. He tries to picture what the streets of Montreal look like now. He asks about the traffic.
The crime Jolivet says he did not commit, happened in Brossard, Que. Two men, Francois Leblanc and Denis Lemieux, were killed on Nov. 10, 1992. Two young women in their twenties, Catherine Morin and Nathalie Beauregard, were also murdered.
Jolivet knew the victims. He had done "business," as is said in the crime world, with them, committing robberies. He has maintained that he last saw them hours before they were found dead.
There is no physical evidence linking Jolivet to the killings, but there is a snitch. Claude Riendeau, a disgraced former police officer with an extensive criminal record. He told the court at trial that Jolivet confessed to the murders just hours after the shootings.
Jolivet did not testify at his own trial and years later, after he wrote more than 100 letters in a relentless pursuit of disclosure, he and his lawyer have uncovered more than 30 witness statements and other evidence that had not been originally released.
The details of the case are complex. There are several people involved and several locations to cover.
A few years ago, Jolivet used money he earned in prison to buy kraft paper, glue and markers to hand-draw a colour-coded chart on the floor in his cell. It illustrates who was where and when in the hours before, during and after the murders.
Jolivet tells W5 his colour-coded, hand-drawn chart constitutes undeniable proof he is not the murderer.
It was based on cell phone data he received as a result of his freedom to information requests.
To him, it constitutes undeniable proof he is not the murderer. His lawyer now has it and she showed it to me days before we met in prison. She unfurled it and it covered an entire dining room table -- a document that must have taken months to produce behind bars.
Jolivet tells me a memorable detail -- about a gold Sombrero pendant. He says it is key to unravelling the case against him. He also has many other details to share.
But we have just a few minutes left in the visitors' room at the prison and Jolivet thanks me several times for listening.
"I want the whole of Canada to hear my story," he says.
He walks to the window and stares out past the barbed wires of the prison walls.
Then we hear the guard.
"Jolivet," he says.
Jolivet shakes my hand again.
And time is up.
We wrap up and leave and the heavy prison doors close behind us.
"I want the whole of Canada to hear my story," Daniel Jolivet tells W5.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, U.S. officials warn
U.S. officials worry the next recession could be intensified by a cascading series of failures in the mortgage industry caused by crashing home prices, frozen financial markets and soaring delinquencies.
Local Spotlight
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
Chris Hadfield inspires youth musical in Sudbury
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Wilfrid Laurier football player drafted despite only playing 27 games in his entire life
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
Federal government bans watercraft from Manitoba lake popular with tourists
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
Toronto-area dessert shop featured by Keith Lee forced to move after zoning complaint
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
'Oh Crap!' New exhibit at Canada Science and Technology Museum explores human waste
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'