A man who has been behind bars for more than three decades while serving a sentence for four murders he swears he did not commit was recently turned down for parole even though the federal government has decided to review whether he was wrongfully convicted.
A decision made by the Parole Board of Canada last week describes how Daniel Jolivet’s frustration and impulsiveness as he waits for a possible new trial are part of what has contributed to him being kept behind bars since 1992, when he was arrested as a suspect in the homicides.
On Nov. 10, 1992, the bodies of Catherine Morin, 20, Nathalie Beauregard, 23, and François Leblanc, 32, were found inside a condo on St-Laurent Blvd. in Brossard by Leblanc’s sister. The body of the fourth victim, Denis Lemieux, 49, was discovered later the same day inside another condo in the same residential building. The victims were all shot with the same firearm, which was never recovered.
The Crown’s case against Jolivet, 68, was based mainly on the testimony of an informant who told police he was with Jolivet and the male victims before they were killed and that the men were involved in a cocaine deal. The informant told police he met Jolivet after the murders and that he confessed to having carried out the homicides. He also said Jolivet told him the women were killed because they were witnesses to what happened to Leblanc.
On April 1, 1994, Jolivet was convicted of four counts of murder and received automatic life sentences, with his parole eligibility set at 25 years.
For years, Jolivet has maintained that cellphone records proving he was not at a restaurant where the informant said Jolivet, Leblanc and Lemieux had dined before the murders were not turned over to the defence before the trial began. He also argues police held back a statement from a jeweller who said Jolivet was inside his store when the murders were carried out.
Jolivet has been turned down for parole before, and on Oct. 22 the parole board denied him both day and full parole. The following day, The Canadian Press published a report stating the federal Justice Department’s criminal conviction review group will investigate Jolivet’s case.
A group called Projet Innocence Québec, founded by lawyer Lida Sara Nouraie before she was named a judge in 2023, filed an application last week to federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser asking him to review Jolivet’s conviction and order a new trial in the case. The request was made after the Quebec Crown prosecutor’s office concluded in June that Jolivet may not have received a fair trial.
A lawyer from the same group represented Jolivet at his most recent parole hearing, but he was again denied a release despite being eligible for full parole since 2017.
“The parole board must imperatively reiterate its statement (made during the) hearing that the non-recognition of the (murder convictions) is absolutely not one of the grounds on which this negative decision is based. It must also emphasize that despite the recent and significant progress in your proceedings to assert your possible innocence, the board must render a release decision based on the reliable and convincing information it currently has, and it cannot today presume your ‘innocence’ or the partial or total guilt that would result from a hypothetical judicial review of your case,” the board wrote in its decision made last week.
“The board has taken into consideration the seriousness of your crime. Although you contest your involvement and conviction for the murder offences that led to your current incarceration, your criminal record demonstrates a trajectory marked by early and persistent criminality, spanning nearly 20 years.”
According to the decision, the parole board will review Jolivet’s chances at having access to escorted releases in April, and will hold its next hearing on his chances at parole in 2030.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
