Tragedy in Rivière-au-Renard: Two young men killed by jealousy

On May 10, in the Rivière-au-Renard sector, there will be a story of jealousy at the origin of the death of two young men who were killed in a violent confrontation on Route 132.

• Read more: Rivière-au-Renard tragedy: second suspect charged with attempted murder

• Read more: Fatal collision at Rivière-au-Renard: Accused appear

Simon Dufort-Chouinard, 18, is accused of causing the deaths of Gabrielle Noel and Dylan Samuel Brancourt, 19 and 18. At the wheel of his vehicle, he violently struck the car occupied by the two victims on Boulevard Renard.

According to Dylan’s sister, Jessica Samuel-Francoeur, the whole story that led to the death of her brother and his friend begins with a story of the heart. The suspect’s ex-girlfriend turns to her friend Gabriel Noel to get over her breakup, and he won’t put up with it.

“Nothing was going on between them, nothing romantic was going to happen. They were friends, that’s all. […] Simon became jealous and followed Gabe for several days. The day it happened, there was an altercation between the two boys before the collision,” explains Mr.^me Samuel-Francour met with Sûreté du Québec (SQ) police officers.

He says the dead youths were chased for hours through the city limits of Caspé until Simon Dufort-Chouinard and his father Marc-Jules finally caught up with them.

“It’s hard to accept. If there had been an accident, we would have been upset, but we couldn’t have done anything. The worst part is knowing that it was a voluntary and thoughtful gesture,” he says.

In the wrong place at the wrong time

What hurts the 18-year-old’s sister is that her brother has nothing to do with this whole story. He simply “found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

“Both boys have nothing to be ashamed of, more so my brother. The target was clearly Gabriel, and Dylan had the misfortune of finding himself in the passenger seat.

Relieving grief

The new charges filed this week heal the still-open wounds of the victims’ families.

While Simon Dufort-Chouinard was already facing charges of causing death by dangerous driving, charges of first-degree murder against Gabrielle Noel and second-degree murder against Dylan Samuel-Fransure came to light.

The father involved in the story is also facing justice for dangerous driving. A case of attempted murder was also registered against him on Wednesday.

Marc Jules Chouinard

VAT News

“It is a great relief to see that we are supported by justice and that they have the necessary resources, argues sister Dylan Samuel-Francour. It is good to see that these two lives are not abandoned and those who took them are punished.

Photo from Gabriel Noel’s Facebook

Photo courtesy of Jessica Samuel-Francoir

However, she says the pain is still strong among her family, just like Christmas. From these events, his family’s day-to-day life was “not really happy” and the absence of his little brother created a huge void that could not be filled.