Guylaine Potvin, shown in a Quebec 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**
A Crown prosecutor says the Quebec man charged with the first-degree murder and sexual assault of 19-year-old junior college student Guylaine Potvin nearly 24 years ago has admitted to causing her death.
Prosecutor Pierre-Alexandre Bernard made the announcement today as he began his closing arguments in the case against Marc-André Grenon.
Grenon’s defence lawyers, who did not call any witnesses, will present closing arguments later today.
Grenon, 49, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and sexual assault in connection with the death of Potvin, who was found in her basement apartment in April 2000 in Jonquière, Que., now a part of Saguenay, some 215 kilometres north of Quebec City.
His name surfaced in the investigation in 2022 after a DNA research project suggested someone with his last name could be connected to the murder, and he was arrested after DNA from a cup and straws he had discarded were found to match evidence from the crime scene.
Bernard told the jury today that the evidence at the crime scene suggests Grenon sexually assaulted Potvin in her bed as she slept and strangled her with a belt.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2024.
