FREDERIC SERRE
The 1510 West
Despite killing a woman in 2006 and stabbing a man in 2018 – both in Île Bizard – a 43-year-old repeat offender now faces charges of savagely killing a 66-year-old man in an Oka apartment on July 11.
Arrested inside a Two Mountains convenience store the next day, Dave Ouellette appeared before a Quebec Court judge on July 13 at the St. Jérôme courthouse to be formally charged with beating Jean-Yves Daoust to death.
Relatives of Muriel Chauvet, meanwhile, are expressing outrage and wondering why the man who killed the 43-year-old Île Bizard mother of two while she was out cycling nearly 20 years ago and who stabbed a man outside an Île Bizard bar seven years ago wasn’t behind bars.
“I find it inconceivable that he could have had the opportunity to reoffend like this,” Chauvet’s ex-husband, Serge Des Côteaux, told the Journal de Montréal. “The system doesn’t work for a guy like him,”
On Aug. 21, 2006, Chauvet was riding her bicycle on Bord du Lac Rd. – an activity that she did regularly. At the same time, Ouellette had just stolen a car in Île Bizard and had driven through three stop signs while being chased by the car’s owner, who had borrowed his girlfriend’s car. During the chase Ouellette hit Chauvet, killing her instantly, before he fled the scene. In August 2008, Ouellette was sentenced to 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death, leaving the scene of an accident and car theft.
At the time, Quebec Court Judge Jean-B. Falardeau described the sentence as “exemplary,” while Des Côteaux told reporters he was satisfied with the sentence.
Eighteen years later, however, Des Côteaux says he is disgusted by a criminal justice system that allowed a repeat offender like Ouellette to be walking the streets. Ouellette was also charged with stabbing a 20-year-old man in 2018 during a bar fight in Île Bizard. When paramedics arrived on the scene, it was feared that the victim would die of his injuries, but he made a full recovery.
Arrested and initially charged with attempted murder in that instance, Ouellette finally pleaded guilty to a reduced accusation of aggravated assault and was sent to jail for two years, followed by three months of probation.
Last month, at the time of his arrest, he was awaiting trial on charges of drunk driving and possession of narcotics, and had a long rap sheet that included convictions for armed robbery, drug possession, breaking and entering, criminal harassment and uttering death threats.
The Sûreté du Québec said a 911 call was made on July 11 from a residence inside a duplex on Notre Dame St. in Oka. Upon arrival, officers found the body of Daoust, lying on the floor of his kitchen. His body showed signs of having been severely beaten. The SQ is investigating the possible motive for the attack. Like Ouellette, Daoust had a criminal record and was known to police.
“He never stops. He has no human values, no morals, no remorse. Considering that he always re-offends, why is he still free? It’s nonsense,” Des Côteaux said. “Another person has paid a price he didn’t deserve. Let’s hope that real justice will be done this time.”