Ottawa

What we know about the 2007 unsolved triple homicide in Ottawa

Alban Garon, 77, his wife Raymonde, 73, and their friend Marie-Claire Beniskos, 78, were found dead in the Garons's 10th-floor apartment at 1510 Riverside Dr. on Saturday, June 30, 2007.

Alban Garon, Raymonde Garon, Marie-Claire Beniskos found bound, gagged, beaten in June 2007

Pallbearers carry the caskets of Alban Garon and his wife Raymonde Garon following funeral services for the two at Notre Dame Basilica in Ottawa on July 10, 2007. The couple, along with neighbour Marie-Claire Beniskos, were discovered dead in the Garons's condo on June 30. (The Canadian Press)

Alban Garon, 77, his wife Raymonde, 73, and their friend Marie-Claire Beniskos, 78, were found dead in the Garons's 10th-floor apartment at 1510 Riverside Dr. on Saturday, June 30, 2007.

They were found bound, gagged and beaten, and no other details were released.

It was Raymonde Garon's brother who found the bodies and called police that day at about 10:30 a.m. At the time, police said the three were likely slain the day before, on Friday, June 29, between 9 a.m. and noon.

The luxury fenced and gated condominium building was equipped with eight closed-circuit cameras, but the live footage was only monitored by security guards and the images were not recorded at the time.

That meant police didn't have a single image of the suspect to work with. 

From left, Raymonde Garon, her husband Alban Garon, and their friend and neighbour Marie-Claire Beniskos were found dead in the Garons' apartment building in June 2007. (Photo collage by CBC)
Investigators later said a suspicious incident Raymonde Garon reported to friends may have been linked to the crime.

In the days before the murder, a strange man representing himself as a delivery person arrived at the Garons's condo but told Raymonde Garon he'd forgotten the package and would come back later.

More than three months after the killings, police released a composite sketch of a person of interest they hoped would have more information in the case.

Police described him as being in his early 40s, about five feet eight inches tall and 180 pounds. He was clean shaven, had black hair with some grey hair, and was wearing dark pants and a white short-sleeved shirt with blue vertical stripes.

In June 2008, a year after the killings, Ottawa police issued a $100,000 reward for information. Half came from police and the other $50,000 was raised from donations.

In 2010, the $100,000 reward was offered again.

In February 2015, CBC sources said the three victims in the triple homicide had bags over their heads and that DNA was uncovered at the scene.

Sources also said that investigators are looking into a possible link between the cold case and the alleged December 2014 home invasion of Second World War veteran Ernest Côté.

About the victims

Alban Garon, born in Lambert, Que., had retired as chief justice at the federal Tax Court of Canada in 2004, a position he had held since July 2003, according to his obituary.

He studied at Laval University in Quebec City and at the University of Ottawa, and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1955. Then he was a part-time law professor at the University of Ottawa from 1956 to 1978 and again from 1986 to 1992.

Ottawa police released a sketch of a man that they want to talk to about the slayings of Alban Garon, Raymonde Garon and Marie-Claire Beniskos. ((Ottawa police))
​Alban Garon practised law with the Federal Department of Justice from 1955 to 1986 in various positions.

Then, after another stint at the University of Ottawa, he was appointed judge of the Tax Court of Canada in September 1988, associate chief judge in February 1999, and chief judge in February 2000.

Raymonde Garon, born in Ottawa under the family name Lurette, had been married to Alban Garon for 36 years at the time of their death, according to her obituary.

Marie-Claire Beniskos "was a gregarious, outgoing and deeply religious woman," according to her obituary.

She was active in her church, Nativite de Notre-Seigneur-Jesus-Christ, and for 70 years had a close friendship with the Soeurs de la Visitation d'Ottawa.

Before her death, Beniskos was also recognized by Friends of The Ottawa Hospital — General campus for 20 years of volunteering.