Marc-Andre Grenon guilty in 2000 murder, sex assault of Quebec college student

A Quebec Superior Court judge on Tuesday described Marc-André Grenon as a morally and sexually depraved killer as he sentenced him to life in prison for the first-degree murder of Quebec junior college student Guylaine Potvin in 2000.

A Quebec Superior Court judge on Tuesday described Marc-André Grenon as a morally and sexually depraved killer as he sentenced him to life in prison for the first-degree murder of Quebec junior college student Guylaine Potvin in 2000.

Justice François Huot addressed Grenon moments after a jury convicted him at the courthouse in Saguenay, Que.

"I want to make this clear: I only feel disgust and contempt for the actions you took on April 28, 2000," Huot told Grenon, who declined the judge's invitation to address the victim's parents, present in the courtroom.

"You are an individual, as I mentioned a few moments ago, who is completely devoid of morality. You are sexually depraved and a murderer."

Grenon, who was arrested in 2022 after DNA on his discarded drinking straws matched evidence from the crime scene, was also found guilty of sexually assaulting the 19-year-old Potvin.

The 12-person jury reached its decision less than three hours after beginning deliberations. Spectators in the packed courtroom could be seen hugging and wiping away tears after the verdicts were read.

Police had honed in on the suspect more than 22 years after the crime when a project tracking Y chromosomes — which are passed down from father to son — suggested the DNA left by the killer was connected to the last name Grenon.