Camille Cleroux

Case summary

Camille Cleroux, 58, pleaded guilty in an Ottawa court to the first-degree murder of neighbour Paula Leclair and to second-degree murder in the deaths of Jean Rock and Lise Roy. Ontario Superior Court Judge Lynn Ratushny denied a defence request for credit for time already served. Ratushny sentenced Cleroux to life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 25 years.

People

• Camille Cleroux — accused; neighbour and former partner of the victims.
• Paula Leclair — neighbour; victim; 64 years old; killed.
• Jean Rock — former spouse/partner described as Cleroux’s common-law wife; victim; 32 years old; killed.
• Lise Roy — former wife of Cleroux; victim; 27 years old; killed.
• Leclair’s son — provided a written victim impact statement to the judge.
• Audrey Creelman — Rock’s mother; delivered a victim impact statement.
• John Rock — Rock’s father; read a victim impact statement in court; had an apparent seizure in the courtroom.
• Daniel Rock — Rock’s brother; delivered a victim impact statement.
• James Cavanagh — Crown attorney.
• Tony Spears — writer referenced in the case coverage.
• Dallas Mack — prosecutor who addressed an earlier appearance by Cleroux.
• Joseph Abdallah — former neighbour who discussed an earlier period at Cleroux’s home.
• Andre Leclair — Leclair’s son; went to the police after visiting her apartment.
• Det. John Monette — detective referenced in coverage.
• Robert Fling — former neighbour who approached police about hearing screams.
• Cleroux’s sister — discussed Cleroux’s background and family views.
• Mellos — a downtown diner where Cleroux was described as a cook.

Timeline

• 1990 — Lise Roy, 27, disappeared; she was later identified through investigation materials as one of the missing wives of Camille Cleroux.
• 2001 — Jean Rock, 32, believed to be Cleroux’s common-law wife, disappeared.
• 2003 — Jean Rock was last seen in 2003.
• May 20, 2010 — Paula Leclair, 64, went missing; her body was found days later in a nearby wooded area.
• May 29, 2010 — Leclair’s son visited her apartment and found it full of Cleroux’s belongings.
• June 3, 2010 — Camille Cleroux, 56, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Paula Leclair.
• June 2010 — after first-degree murder charges were made public, former neighbour Robert Fling approached police about hearing screams from Cleroux’s Heatherington Avenue house about 20 years earlier.
• June 25, 2010 — Camille Cleroux was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Jean Rock in 2001 and Lise Roy in 1990.
• June 26, 2012 — Cleroux pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and two of second-degree murder; he was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
• April 20, 2012 — police confirmed they had found more human remains connected to Cleroux in a forested section of Fairlea Woods.
• March 20, 2012 — Cleroux’s preliminary hearing ended and he agreed to stand trial on three counts of first-degree murder.
• Nov. 16, 2011 — police started digging for human remains in Heatherington Park.
• Nov. 4, 2011 — police investigators concluded their dig at 1535 Heatherington Avenue; the human remains were shipped to Toronto for analysis.
• Nov. 4, 2011 — preliminary hearing for accused serial killer Camille Cleroux adjourned after human remains were found at his former home.
• Oct. 31, 2011 — workers found human remains in the backyard at 1535 Heatherington Avenue and police began digging.
• June 14 — Cleroux was due to next appear in court.
• 2004 to 2010 — Cleroux had letters written and delivered to Rock’s father, described as about three letters per year.
• April 26, 2004 — a letter to John Rock was dated “April 26, 2004.”
• summer of 2006 — Cleroux planned to wheel Rock’s remains to Dow’s Lake, dumped the body in the canal near Albion Road and Bronson Avenue, and crews later recovered bones after the canal was drained in the fall of 2006.
• fall of 2006 — National Capital Commission staff recovered bones after the canal was drained.

The offence

Paula Leclair (64)

Police alleged Cleroux killed Leclair because he wanted her apartment. Cleroux moved into Leclair’s apartment and told Leclair’s son that she had given the apartment to Cleroux after winning the lottery and moving to Florida. Police said Leclair’s body was found in a heavily wooded area in the Walkley Yards. Coverage also described that Cleroux had already dug Leclair’s grave when Leclair went for a walk with him on May 20, 2010; he pulled out a 6-inch knife and stabbed her in the back, then picked up a rock and struck her in the head. Hours later, he was described as carrying her stuff to a dumpster in the back.

Leclair’s son, Andre Leclair, later went to the apartment after becoming worried and found it full of Cleroux’s belongings, while Cleroux walked over from the elevator. Cleroux told Andre Leclair that his mother had given him the flat, and Cleroux asked for Andre’s key. Andre Leclair went to the police.

After Cleroux was arrested, police said he led detectives to Leclair’s body after his arrest and that before the interview was over he had confessed to murdering Leclair in cold blood. After Cleroux was in custody, he was also charged in the deaths of two former wives.

Jean Rock (32)

Coverage described a tempestuous relationship in which Rock repeatedly left and then came back. Police said Cleroux admitted to investigators that Rock “pissed him off one too many times,” so he went for a walk and beat her to death with a rock. He buried her where she fell in a shallow grave near Kiwanis Crescent and later formed a plan to conceal the crime.

Cleroux was described as paying a woman with similar handwriting to write letters in Rock’s name. Cleroux told the forger what to write, and then hand-delivered the letters to Rock’s father, John Rock, “two or three a year” from 2004 to 2010. The letters conveyed that Rock did not want direct contact with her family and included touching details of a fictional life for Rock, including a trucker named Pierre and their growing family.

A letter dated April 26, 2004 was read in court. Construction crews neared Rock’s unmarked grave, and Cleroux dug up Rock’s remains and buried them in nearby Fairlea Park. Animals uncovered the bones, and in the summer of 2006 he put Rock’s remains in a purple mesh bag, put the bag in a shopping cart, and wheeled it to Bronson Avenue where it crosses the Rideau Canal; he dumped the bag in the canal. National Capital Commission staff recovered the remains after the canal was drained in the fall of 2006. DNA tests were described as inconclusive, and Rock had never been declared missing when her remains were recovered.

Lise Roy (27)

Coverage described that Roy disappeared in 1990. Police said Roy had been married to Cleroux when she disappeared. It was described that Cleroux bashed Roy to death with a rock after she confronted him in April 1990 and that he buried her body in their backyard. Neighbours described the appearance of a vegetable garden; tomatoes grew in the dirt, roots reaching down to Roy’s bones, wrapped in butcher paper. Coverage also stated that much of Roy’s remains, including her skull, had never been found at the time.

In later investigation materials, the bones found in the backyard of a home once occupied by Cleroux were identified as belonging to Roy through DNA analysis. The identification was determined by DNA analysis, and Roy’s remains were found in the garden plot.

Investigation

Police confirmed that they found more human remains connected to Cleroux in a forested section of Fairlea Woods on April 20, 2012. During the investigation, police found human remains at Cleroux’s former home on Heatherington Road in south Ottawa and later at a second site in a forest off Albion Road. Police dug at a townhouse at 1535 Heatherington Road and also dug at a nearby park in the Heatherington Road area.

Coverage described that bones discovered by a landscaping crew were found in the backyard at 1535 Heatherington Avenue and were not buried deeply. Prosecutor Dallas Mack told the court that following five days of digging, police found a pair of thigh and leg bones along with portions of a forearm and numerous fingers. The human remains were shipped to Toronto for analysis after police investigators concluded their dig at 1535 Heatherington Avenue.

Publication ban prevented the reporting of any evidence heard during the preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing had been under way for nine days before it was adjourned.

Arrest and charges

Cleroux was first arrested and charged in connection with the death of Leclair. He was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Paula Leclair. Police said the charge followed his move into her apartment and his statements to Leclair’s son that Leclair had given him the unit after winning the lottery and moving to Florida.

In June 2010, after first-degree murder charges against Cleroux, Robert Fling approached police about hearing screams from Cleroux’s Heatherington Avenue house about 20 years earlier. In June 2010, police said they were investigating human remains tied to Cleroux at multiple sites and later linked the remains to the missing victims through DNA analysis.

On June 25, 2010, Cleroux was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Jean Rock and Lise Roy. Coverage described that when he was arrested for the murder of Leclair he had led detectives to the body after he was arrested.

Trial and plea

Cleroux pleaded guilty in Ottawa court to the first-degree murder of neighbour Paula Leclair and to second-degree murder in the deaths of Jean Rock and Lise Roy.

During the sentencing hearing, family members delivered victim impact statements. It was described that John Rock had an apparent seizure in the courtroom, and Judge Lynn Ratushny called a lunch recess after John Rock roared in court as he learned how the family had been deceived. Cleroux’s plea was accepted, and the sentencing proceeded.

Sentencing

Ontario Superior Court Judge Lynn Ratushny denied the defence request for credit for time already served.

Judge Ratushny said:

“With a mind that has functioned in a way that yours has and does, there's no better place for you than in custody,” Ratushny said in handing down the sentence.
“After hearing the stomach-churning details today, and your plan to kill these cherished women just to get them out of your way, we can all take some comfort knowing that you are incarcerated and likely will be for the rest of your life.”

Ratushny sentenced Cleroux to life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 25 years on all counts.

Appeals

No appeals were included in the provided case information.

Outcome

Camille Cleroux was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for murders including the first-degree murder of Paula Leclair and the second-degree murders of Jean Rock and Lise Roy.

Aftermath / victim impact statements and reactions

Audrey Creelman, Rock’s mother, told the court: “No loved one should ever have to go through this pain.”

Jean Rock’s stepmother read a statement from Rock’s father, John Rock:

“Our family is now incomplete and will never be the same,” read John Rock's statement.
“I welcomed a monster into my home and now I feel sick. My heart is broken beyond repair.”

Daniel Rock gave a victim impact statement, saying: “I think about old memories, and my heart breaks when I think we won't create new memories.”

Leclair’s son provided a written victim impact statement to the judge.

Coverage also reported remarks made by John Rock in court when Cleroux’s guilty plea was heard:

“I'm gonna kill him,” the father of victim Jean Rock roared in court as he learned how the diner dishwasher had duped the family for years to believe she was still alive.
“An animal, an animal,” John Rock repeated as family tried to calm him and escorted him from the courtroom.

Other details

Cleroux was described as estranged from his family, who described him as a “drifter” and a “loner.” Coverage stated police said he also had four children, and his sister said he had five brothers and sisters.

Joseph Abdallah, a former neighbour, said:

“I was always wondering what the hell happened,” said Joseph Abdallah. “He was always telling people she left him.”

Abdallah recalled seeing Cleroux at the door and said:

“He said, ‘Not now, guys. Not now,’ “ Abdallah recalled.

A fictional letter read in court included these passages:

“My dear Dad,” read one letter dated April 26, 2004.
“I named the baby John. The baby is well, he weighs seven pounds now and he's going to be tall like the Rock side. ... (He has) Indian skin like me, dad.”

Police described that when Leclair disappeared, Cleroux had moved into her apartment and told her son she had won the lottery and moved to Florida. Cleroux had asked a neighbour to forge a letter from Leclair giving him permission to take over the apartment. Coverage described that Cleroux used similar methods for Rock’s family via letters written by a forger and delivered by hand.

Cleroux was in the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre during the proceedings.