Quebec coroner Kamel to investigate second fatal fire in Old Montreal

Quebec coroner Géhane Kamel will preside over a public enquiry into the deaths of Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter Vérane, who were killed in a fire in a heritage building in Old Montreal on Oct. 4 that also left two people injured.

Quebec's chief coroner has ordered a public inquest into the fatal Old Montreal fire last week that claimed the lives of two French nationals.

Police identified the victims as 43-year-old Leonor Geraudie and seven-year-old Verane Reynaud Geraudie, both of France.

They were killed after fire swept through a building in Old Montreal early Friday morning and their bodies were removed from the scene that evening.

Chief coroner Reno Bernier says in a news release the inquiry will be overseen by Gehane Kamel, the same coroner who was assigned to investigate the March 2023 fire in Old Montreal that killed seven people.

Bernier says Kamel can choose to combine both inquiries because they share similar facts, notably the two buildings that caught fire were owned by the same man -- Emile Benamor -- and that arson is suspected in both cases.

Over the weekend, Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel said his office was in talks with the coroner to find ways of expediting inquests into both fatal fires.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Oct. 8, 2024.