Hundreds march in memory of a murdered young woman in the McGill ghetto

“She had a beautiful soul and a beautiful heart and a beautiful voice. They just took her away too soon.”

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Romane Bonnier is not forgotten.

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Several hundred people gathered on the FACE school playground on Saturday afternoon and then walked down Parc Ave. to the Rialto Theater to pay tribute to 24-year-old Montrealer. Bonnier was stabbed to death in the McGill ghetto less than two weeks ago, killed near the corner of Aylmer St. and Milton St.

She was a singer and actress who had attended FACE, and her song videos on YouTube have garnered thousands of views since her death on October 21.

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He covers songs by Dolly Parton, Bee Gees, and Abba, including Abba’s The Winner Takes It All.

Two weeks ago, few had seen the videos. Now, some of them have more than 20,000 views and there are many comments on how the letter takes on a new resonance since his death.

François Pelletier, 36, was arrested at the scene and charged with premeditated murder in what police consider a case of domestic violence. According to police, Pelletier was Bonnier’s former roommate and they had a brief romantic relationship.

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Alexia Martins, who was in school with Bonnier at FACE and Marianopolis College, like so many, wanted to show her love for the young woman on Saturday. They sang together in the youth choir Orchester Philarmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes.

“FACE is a family, so we stick together,” Martins said. “But also Romane was my best friend and this is all I can do for her now and also for all the women who cannot walk down the street because they are afraid of being attacked… she was very kind, very generous. She was someone who was always there for you when you needed her. She was always willing to go the extra mile for you and help anyone in need. She was very talented. He had a beautiful soul and a beautiful heart and a beautiful voice. They just took her too soon. “

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Recently, he had studied music at Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto.

Paul Marechal lived a few doors down from Bonnier, near the McGill campus, and saw the aftermath of the attack, having left his apartment after hearing screams. He said he came to the memorial because he didn’t want that to be his last memory of Bonnier.

“It was very important for me to be here for the closing,” Marechal said. “I didn’t want the horrible crime scene I witnessed to be my last memory (of her)… I went out and saw her lying on the ground and the murderer kneeling on her, (saying he regretted) what he had just done. … it was a huge impact on the neighborhood. “

Rita Jerumanis, who taught science at FACE for 35 years before retiring a few months ago, came because she had fond memories of Bonnier. He taught Bonnier and his three brothers. She was devastated when she heard the news. He then channeled his pain into art, painting a portrait of his former student.

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“I cried for two days,” said Jerumanis. “My eyes were popping out. Then, because I discovered painting, I made a portrait and gave it to the family today. … You want to do something, but you don’t know what. Why do you have to escalate to that? “

Anne-Sophie Julien, a family friend who organized the march on Saturday, said she felt it made perfect sense for people to wind up outside the venerable Rialto Theater on Parc Ave. There was a private funeral ceremony there in the afternoon.

“It is the seventeenth femicide of the year and we cannot take it anymore,” Julien said. “People are fed up. We have to unite. We have to sensitize people. I know the family and I really needed to create an event to give a great wave of love to the family. I think it is so beautiful that the community came together today.

“There is probably not a person here who does not know a victim of violence. We invited people to pay tribute to Romane at the Rialto because Romane was truly a performing artist. So having people come to pay tribute at the Rialto was a way of letting her headline her final show. He was very talented and not just musically. She was a true artist. “

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Reference-montrealgazette.com

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