Francois Senecal was sentenced to life in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to the second-degree murder of then-13-year-old Oceane Boyer in February 2020.
Senecal pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder, which comes with a mandatory life sentence, at the Saint-Jerome courthouse on Friday. The victim’s family was present in the courtroom.
Superior Court Judge France Charbonneau accepted a joint Crown and defense recommendation that Senecal be eligible for parole after 19 years in prison.
Said to be a close friend to Boyer’s family, Senecal was arrested and initially charged with first-degree murder after her body was discovered on February 26, 2020, by the side of a road in Brownsburg-Chatham in the Laurentians.
Judge Charbonneau said that rather than face the consequences of the sexual acts he committed against the girl, Senecal killed her and tried to hide any evidence that could link him to the murder.
— This article by The Canadian Press was first published on April 22, 2022.