Montreal police (SPVM) are searching for a suspect after a 45-year-old woman was found dead downtown on Tuesday. Officers responded to a wellness check at an apartment on Rene-Levesque Boulevard near Saint-Christophe Street at around 3:25 p.m. and found the woman unresponsive. Noovo Info confirmed that Leila Ben Salem was killed while in the middle of a virtual meeting with a co-worker. The suspect allegedly gained access to the Tunisian woman’s apartment and beat her to death. Ben Salem had only recently acquired her condo in the building, which was undergoing renovations, according to information obtained by Noovo Info. SPVM spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant said shortly after the woman’s death that suspects were being sought. “There is still a police operation underway,” Brabant added. No arrests have been made. A police command post was established at the scene, and the investigation is ongoing. The death is the 19th homicide on Montreal police territory for 2026.
