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Quebec provincial police make arrest 22 years after murder of college student

MONTREAL — Quebec provincial police made an arrest Wednesday in the homicide of a junior college student more than 22 years ago. Guylaine Potvin, 19, was found dead in her apartment in Jonquière, now a borough of Saguenay, Que.
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Quebec provincial police say they've made an arrest in the homicide of a junior college student 22 years ago. Guylaine Potvin, shown in a provincial police handout photo, was found dead in her apartment in Jonquière, Que., on April 28, 2000. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Surete du Quebec **MANDATORY CREDIT**

MONTREAL — Quebec provincial police made an arrest Wednesday in the homicide of a junior college student more than 22 years ago.

Guylaine Potvin, 19, was found dead in her apartment in Jonquière, now a borough of Saguenay, Que., about 215 kilometres north of Quebec City.

Potvin lived with two female roommates, also students, who were not home when the killing took place inside their Panet Street residence.

Her body was discovered the morning of April 28, 2000.

More than two decades later, Quebec provincial police arrested Marc-André Grenon, 47, in connection with Potvin's murder. He is charged with first-degree murder and with sexual assault.

Grenon, of Granby, Que., east of Montreal, is also charged with attempted murder and sexual assault in connection with a case in the provincial capital just months after Potvin's killing.

Police say their investigation into Potvin's murder turned up similarities with the Quebec City case from July 2000 in which a female student, living alone, was assaulted and left for dead but survived the attack.

In a statement, provincial police praised the work of investigators in the cold case division and the forensic science laboratory and "the innovative methods used today in forensic biology" that allowed for an arrest.

Provincial police said Grenon was scheduled to appear in court via video link on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2022.

The Canadian Press

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