Police didn't suspect Quebec man was 'dangerous' when he and his daughters disappeared
WARNING: This article contains distressing details.
Hours before Norah and Romy Carpentier, ages 11 and six, went missing on July 8, 2020, they ate dinner with their grandmother, Gaétane Tremblay, outside her home.
She said everything about that summer day was normal until 9 p.m.
On the second day of a coroner's inquiry into the event, Tremblay tearfully recalled how the girls' father, Martin Carpentier, took them out for ice cream at 8 p.m. and just "never came back."
Carpentier disappeared with his daughters and triggered one of the longest Amber Alerts in the province's history before the girls' bodies were found three days later in a wooded area.
The inquiry, led by coroner Luc Malouin, has heard from people who were close to Carpentier that they had sensed a change in him in the weeks before he disappeared with his daughters — he seemed low, had lost weight, wasn't sleeping well and was concerned about losing custody rights.
But many of those same friends and family members could not believe he would hurt the girls and some did not immediately share their observations with police, who did not see any reason to initiate an Amber Alert, witnesses have testified.
The night her son-in-law disappeared, Tremblay called his cell phone. The voice that answered was a police officer, who informed her that Carpentier's car had crashed along Highway 20 in Saint-Apollinaire, Que.
At first, police thought the father and daughters had walked away from the crash. But by the next day, searches were underway.
A week after the girls' bodies were discovered, Carpentier was found dead. A coroner reported he had likely killed the girls with a blunt object on July 9 before taking his own life.
The inquiry, set to last at least a month, aims to reveal the circumstances of the girls' deaths.
Tremblay testified that the disappearance of Carpentier, Romy and Norah didn't make sense to their family initially because "Martin was an integral part of our family."
On Monday, the girls' mother, Amélie Lemieux, testified that her ex-husband had been a good father and only "became dangerous the moment he killed my kids."
Police were told Carpentier was doting father
Vincent Poirier, a Sûreté du Québec officer, was one of the first responding officers on the scene following the accident.
He testified on Tuesday afternoon, saying police did not initially see the scene as part of a kidnapping because Carpentier had co-parenting rights.
He added that some of Carpentier's friends had told police he would do "anything for his girls."
"We still didn't have a suspicion that Carpentier is dangerous, which doesn't meet the criteria for an Amber Alert," said Poirier.
Poirier said police only began to consider the possibility of a kidnapping after reading a statement from the mother's partner at the time.
Alexandre Pelletier revealed he had concerns about Carpentier, who was looking thin and seemed worried about losing his daughters. Poirier said it took some time before the team considered these signs as indicators Carpentier might have taken his girls.
The SQ officer said he was not the one making the decisions regarding the Amber Alert, but that the statements from family were sometimes contradictory for those working the case.
Before getting off his shift, Poirier notes he took these statements and gave them to the higher-ups responsible for the case — only finding out the Amber Alert was issued later the next day.
Carpentier's 'obsession' about losing custody
The girls' grandmother was one of the family members who had detected changes in Carpentier.
Having separated from the girls' mother in 2015, by 2020 Carpentier was becoming concerned he might lose access to daughters, Tremblay told the inquiry.
She said that it became an "obsession" even though he "had no reason to fear losing his kids."
Her voice cracking, she read a closing statement recalling how her granddaughters approached her to talk about life and death not long before they were killed.
"[They said] 'dear Mamie … because you are our grandparent, and older than us, you will die before us, I guess that's just how life is,'" said Tremblay, letting out a muffled sob.
She said she continues to feel their presence today.
"Today my beautiful Norah and Romy I know you're with us, I am wishing you the best Valentine's Day and [know that] I love your mom more than anything else," croaked Tremblay.
The inquiry also heard from Saint-Apollinaire fire Chief Martin Miller, who described some of the initial search efforts.
Two witnesses also took the stand Tuesday to describe the scene of the car crash. They both said they saw the car accident and then what appeared to be a man and a younger woman walking away from the scene. Both witnesses said they only called 911 after hearing about the accident and the Amber Alert the next day.
More witnesses are expected to take the stand in the coming days.
