MISSING/MURDERED NATIVE WOMEN IN QUEBEC
Tiffany Morrison
TIFFANY MORRISON,aged 25, from the Mohawk Territory of Kaknawake outside Montreal has not been seen since June 18, 2006.
Her sister, Melanie Morrison describes Tiffany as someone “who was always trying to better herself, to make a better life for her and her daughter.” When Tiffany went out for the night and didn’t return, the family feared the worst.
“She loved her daughter so much,” says Carol Morrison, Tiffany’s mother, “She would never leave her like this.”
Tiffany was seen at a bar in the nearby town of LaSalle, Quebec on the night she disappeared. She shared a taxi back to Kahnawake with a man from the community. He has told police that she remained in the taxi after he was let out at his own house.
Although taxi drivers are required to report their fares, they don't always do so. To date, the police have not been able to identify the taxi company or locate the driver. Tiffany’s bank account and credit card have not been used since that night.
The Kahnawake Peacekeepers, the police force for the Kahnawake First Nation, is treating Tiffany’s disappearance as a criminal investigation. They have been in contact with police forces in Quebec and Ontario.
Ed Stacey, Investigator with the Kahnawake Peacekeepers, says that after publicizing Tiffany’s disappearance on missing persons networks, the force has heard numerous false sightings and other rumours but so far has turned up little that is credible. However, he remains convinced that there are members of the public who know something about what happened but have not come forward yet.
The support from the Kahnawake Peacekeepers has helped to make a difficult time easier for the Morrison family. “They have always provided us with updates and stay in regular contact.” says Melanie. “Any time we approached the Peacekeepers with suggestions or new approaches to the investigation, they were willing to explore them with us.”
Tiffany and her daughter live with her mother Carol. Her family describe her as energetic and completely devoted to her daughter. At the time of her disappearance, Tiffany had just completed an entrepreneurial training program. She planned to apply for a loan so she could go into business for herself.
“Tiffany always had a plan,” her mother recalls. “She wanted to get her and her daughter their own home.”
Although she is certain that Tiffany would have not gone missing of her own free will, her mother Carol continues to hope that she will be found and can return safely home. “There’s a young girl who asks every day when her mother will come home. All we can do is hope.”
“She is my sister. She is a mother, a daughter. She is someone who is deeply missed by her family and community.” says Melanie. “Every day we hope for new information, anything that might tell us where Tiffany might be. Someone knows something. Our hope depends on them coming forward.”
The Kahnawake Peacekeepers have asked that anyone with information on the disappearance of Tiffany Morrison contact Ed Stacey at 450-632-6505.
UNSOLVED
MURDERED
Sandra Gaudet
On Saturday, March 10, 1990, Sandra Gaudet's mother reported her daughter's disappearance to the Val-d'Or police. On Monday, March 12, 1990, Sandra's body was found near chemin Baie-Carrières in Val-d'Or, buried in the snow. She was dressed only in her socks and a torn and undone brassiere.
Autopsy concluded that death was caused by asphyxiation resulting from manual strangulation. The presence of marks that associated with bites on Sandra's breasts and vulva were noted.
Sandra went to meet a friend at his aunt's home, where he was babysitting, at about 8:30 p.m. They left together at about 9:00 and went to his family home. They then spent the evening talking with his mother and watching television. He added that Sandra had left his home at 11:45, alone, to go home. He testified that Sandra normally made that trip by taking a route that included chemin Baie-Carrières.
Sandra was abducted and dragged into the home of the father of one of the two accused.
Isabelle Martel, who lived in the apartment upstairs from Laurent Taillefer's apartment at the time of the murder, testified that she had heard unusual noise coming from the downstairs apartment during the night of March 9 to 10, 1990. She said that she had heard "scuffling" and a loud male laugh at about a quarter past midnight. Later in the night, she said, she heard the voice of an angry person and the noise made by a fist hitting a table or wall. She then said that she had heard the shower in Laurent Taillefer's apartment twice, at about 6:00 or 6:30 on the morning of March 10, 1990. Shortly after that, she saw two individuals leave Laurent Taillefer's apartment, whom she later identified as the appellants Taillefer and Duguay.
Ghyslaine Pomerleau, who lived near Laurent Taillefer's apartment, testified that she had heard the "unusually long" scream of a teenaged girl coming from around Laurent Taillefer's home during the night of March 9 to 10, 1990. She said that she had heard the scream after seeing an unpleasant scene in a movie on television. The evidence further established that the scene in question had aired at midnight.
The Attorney General also introduced into evidence two telephone conversations between the appellants, which were intercepted by the police on April 6, 1990. In certain parts of those conversations, the appellants spoke as if they were innocent, while at other times they made incriminating comments, saying that only God and they themselves knew who had killed Sandra Gaudet.
After they were arrested, the appellants made incriminating statements to the investigating police officers. The statements were ruled admissible in evidence after a voir dire was held. In his statement, Billy Taillefer admitted committing the murder of Sandra Gaudet. According to his admissions, Hugues Duguay and he had abducted Sandra Gaudet and then dragged her into Laurent Taillefer's home, where they forcibly undressed her. He said that he had not raped the victim, although he acknowledged that he had ejaculated on her. He also said that Hugues Duguay had bitten her breasts. Because the victim was struggling and screaming, Billy Taillefer choked her by putting his hands around her neck until she lost consciousness. He then tried to revive her, but without success. According to Billy Taillefer's statement, when his father, Laurent Taillefer, came home from work, he was enraged to find the victim in his bed and ordered the appellants to "get rid of" the body. Using Laurent Taillefer's vehicle, they transported their victim's body to the wooded area near chemin Baie-Carrières and left it there, and then returned to Laurent Taillefer's home, after throwing the victim's clothing out on the side of the road. They left Laurent Taillefer's home at about 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. Billy Taillefer finally said that he had consumed a large quantity of alcohol during the day and evening of March 9, 1990. In addition to that statement, Billy Taillefer signed a handwritten note addressed to Sandra Gaudet's parents in which he asked them to forgive him for the unintentional act he had committed.
Hugues Duguay stated that he had but a vague memory of the events. He had consumed a large amount of alcohol and cocaine during the day and evening of March 9, 1990. According to his statement, he had followed Billy Taillefer when he dragged Sandra Gaudet into Laurent Taillefer's home. He said that Billy Taillefer was holding the victim down when she struggled. Then she stopped moving. He said that he no longer remembered very well whether or not he had helped Billy Taillefer to undress the victim, or whether he had touched her. Billy Taillefer and he used Laurent Taillefer's Tracker to dispose of the victim's body and her clothing, but he did not remember the exact place.
On February 1, 1991, after deliberating for 14 days, the jury found the appellants guilty of the first degree murder of Sandra Gaudet. They were sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for 25 years. The appellants Taillefer and Duguay then appealed to the Quebec Court of Appeal.
Mr. Taillefer was convicted, in February, 1991, of first degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Sandra Gaudet of Val d’Or, Quebec. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole eligibility for 25 years. His conviction appeal was dismissed by the Quebec Court of Appeal in June, 1995 and his application for leave to appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada in February, 1996.
Hugues Duguay, Mr. Taillefer's co-accused, was also convicted of first degree murder. As well, he appealed to the Court of Appeal. In his case, the court granted the appeal and ordered a new trial. At the second trial, he entered a guilty plea to manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He then appealled this sentence and lost his appeal.
MURDERED
Kelly Morrisseau
The Crime Stoppers reward money initially sat at $2000. The Assembly of First Nations doubled it to $4000 and then, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada announced an additional $10,000 bringing the total to $14,000. And today, further contributions were made of $2000 by MKI Travel and $2000 by Ottawa based lawyer Richard Warman. Also, Rosemarie McPherson, National spokesperson of Women of the Métis Nation (WMN) announced the WMN would be making a contribution of $1000. That brings the total to $19,000.
Anyone with information about the murder of Kelly and her unborn child is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (or 8477) or Gatineau Police at 819-243-2345.
UNSOLVED
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