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
BREAKING Quebec judge orders bus driver to stand trial for 2023 daycare crash deaths
A judge has ordered a Quebec man to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of two children killed when a bus rammed into a Montreal-area daycare last year.
Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Local Spotlight
Conservation officers seize 9-foot python from Chilliwack home
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Ontario auto-insurance changes could leave some vulnerable, says expert
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A tiny critter who could: Elusive Newfoundland Marten makes improbable comeback
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
Ontario man loses $12K to deepfake scam involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Record-setting pop tab collection for Ontario boy
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
'I was just like, holy cow!': Saskatoon dumpster divers reclaim wasted valuables
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario to balance budget ahead of 2026 election, citing delay due to 'economic uncertainty'
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.