Warning: Graphic content Montreal police have arrested a suspect in the death of a woman who was killed while she was in a virtual meeting with a co-worker in her apartment last month. Youcef Moussaoui, 33, was on an arrest warrant and was taken into custody Thursday afternoon in the city’s Ville-Marie borough, Montreal police said in a press release. The accused will appear in court Friday to face a charge of first-degree murder. On Sept. 22, at 3:25 p.m., police officers were called to an apartment building on René-Lévesque Boulevard in Ville-Marie, near Saint-Christophe Street, for a wellness check. Once they arrived, they found the body of a woman, who was pronounced dead at the scene. She has been identified as 45-year-old Leila Ben Salem. Police said Thursday that her killing was not in the context of domestic violence. “The various pieces of evidence gathered during the criminal investigation, including the alleged motive for the murder, will be made public during the legal proceedings,” police said in the release. The death of Ben Salem marked the 19th homicide in Montreal this year. During the investigation, police explained that someone had gained access to her apartment and beat her to death. She had only recently acquired her condo in the building, which was undergoing renovations, according to information obtained by Noovo Info. Ben Salem was a mother who worked for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). There was an outpouring of condolences for her after her death, including from Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, the CRA, the Union of Taxation Employees, and Prime Minister Mark Carney, who described her as “a valued member of the Canada Revenue Agency, dedicated to serving Canadians, which she was doing at the time of her assault.” In a statement in the House of Commons last month, Carney offered support for the police “so that the perpetrator of this shameful crime pays the full price.” In the days after the tragedy, Montreal police said investigators had met with a “person of interest” in connection with the investigation into the woman’s violent death, but declined to say whether or not that person has a relationship with the victim.
