Valérie Dalpé was a 13-year-old White/Caucasian girl living in the Saint-Léonard area of Montreal, Quebec, when she disappeared on the evening of October 18, 1989. At about 5:45 p.m., she left her home on Place Choquette intending to make a short trip to a neighborhood pharmacy near the intersection of Viau Street and d’Artagnan Street. She was expected back almost immediately because she had arranged to meet two friends at approximately 6:00 p.m.
Valérie never arrived at the pharmacy and never returned home.
The search ended in horrific circumstances the following day at the dump associated with Montreal’s former Miron quarry. An equipment operator working among the refuse noticed a human hand protruding from the garbage. The remains were identified as Valérie’s. Investigators determined that she had been strangled and that her body had been dismembered before being discarded. Reports about the investigation indicated that a saw had been used and that specialists believed the manner in which the body was cut suggested the killer may have possessed substantial knowledge of butchering or meat-cutting techniques.
One potentially significant incident had occurred only two days before the killing. Valérie was reportedly approached by a motorist and rejected the man’s advances. That encounter became one of the circumstances examined in connection with her death, although publicly available accounts do not establish that the motorist was identified as her killer or that the encounter was conclusively connected to the homicide. Investigators were left trying to determine where Valérie was intercepted during the very short journey between her home and the pharmacy, since available accounts indicate that she never reached her destination.
The condition of the remains became an important element of the investigation. The apparent skill involved in the dismemberment led to theories that the person responsible may have worked as a butcher or possessed comparable practical knowledge. Decades later, that possibility was still being examined publicly. A 2024 investigation into the case reported that new confidences had caused the homicide investigation to be reopened, while coverage of the renewed inquiry again raised the possibility that someone with butchering experience had been involved.
The case continued to attract renewed attention in 2026. A subsequent investigation reported that recently gathered information concerning a former neighbor whose behavior had raised concerns could represent an important lead. The individual was presented as a potential avenue of investigation rather than as someone proven responsible for Valérie’s death. Publicly available reporting does not show that this person was arrested or charged in connection with the killing.
Despite the passage of more than three decades, Valérie Dalpé’s murder remains officially unresolved in the available public record. No person has been publicly identified as having been convicted of killing her, and no publicly documented arrest, criminal charge, trial, or conviction has brought the case to a conclusion. Investigators have continued to pursue information and revisit old leads, including the possible significance of the motorist encounter, the killer’s apparent skill in dismembering the body, and information emerging years later about people who may have warranted closer scrutiny.
