Pair arrested as suspects in deadly Old Montreal fire will be charged with second-degree murder

The two men arrested on Friday as suspects in the deadly fire in Old Montreal that killed a French tourist and her seven-year-old daughter will be charged with second-degree murder.

The pair — Justin Fortier-Trahan, 20, of Montreal, and Juventino Hernandez Pelaez, 18, a resident of the St-Laurent borough — are scheduled to appear before a judge at the Montreal courthouse on Saturday.

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They face a total of five charges in all, including two counts of second-degree murder, causing a fire at 400 Notre Dame St. E. that caused bodily harm to a man, causing a fire to a building while knowing someone was likely inside and a charge alleging they were behind a second fire on the same day, Oct. 4, on Wellington St.

In that case, someone tossed a Molotov cocktail through the window of the building, near the corner of Ash St. in the Sud-Ouest borough.

The building was being used as a hostel and the five-alarm fire took the lives of two French tourists, Léonor Yvonne Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter, Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie. The 23 other people inside the building made it out alive, though two were reported to be in critical condition by Montreal police.

Fortier-Trahan recently served time behind bars for setting fire to a vehicle belonging to someone with ties to the Montreal Mafia.

The victim whose Mustang was damaged by the fire in Laval on April 30, 2023, is described in a court document as having hung out at a café in Montreal with people tied to the Mafia during the summer of 2020.

Fortier-Trahan pleaded guilty in January to arson and possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm inside a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to a prison term of more than 18 months, but when time served was factored he was left with nine months to serve.

pcherry@postmedia.com

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