Ezaek Hilaire

In the spring of 2017, Ezaek Hilaire, a 19-year-old male from Laval, Quebec, vanished under violent circumstances. His life and the details of who he was—his family, his work, his passions—remain private, unmentioned in the public record that has since been defined by the search for his killers. What is known is that his life ended tragically and his case is part of a complex, ongoing investigation by provincial police.

On May 9, 2017, Ezaek’s body was discovered in a wooded area in Mirabel, a city off the island of Montreal. Investigators with the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), Quebec's provincial police force, determined he had been the victim of a homicide. The investigation revealed that Ezaek was likely kidnapped and beaten. He was last seen alive in the Chomedey district of Laval, specifically in the area of Grolier Street and the service road for Autoroute 13. For five years, his case remained cold, with no public developments or suspects announced.

The silence was broken in May 2022, when the Sûreté du Québec made a significant announcement. Investigators from its specialized Centaur unit, a task force created in 2021 to combat organized crime and illegal firearms trafficking, had uncovered a link between Ezaek’s murder and another homicide that occurred four years later. Police connected his death to the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Nitchell Lapaix in Laval on August 17, 2021. Lapaix was shot to death on a Laval street in what police described as a gang-related incident.

This breakthrough prompted a renewed public appeal for information. On May 17, 2022, the SQ deployed a mobile command post at the intersection where Ezaek was last seen alive, near Grolier Street and Autoroute 13. The goal was to speak with residents and encourage anyone who might have seen something in 2017, or who had information about either Ezaek or Nitchell Lapaix, to come forward. While police confirmed the connection between the two murders, a spokesperson remained tight-lipped about the specific nature of the link, stating only that they were seeking more information on both men and their deaths.

The investigation into the murder of Nitchell Lapaix moved forward, providing a potential, though indirect, path toward answers in Ezaek's case. In December 2022, the SQ's organized crime squad arrested two men, Tareck Youssef Baydoun and Sylvain Kabbouchi, for the first-degree murder of Lapaix. In April 2025, after a weeks-long trial, a jury found both men guilty. They were automatically sentenced to life in prison. Police sources identified Kabbouchi as a leading figure in a violent street gang, and the motive for Lapaix's murder was believed to be related to control of the drug trade in Laval.

As of the verdict in the Lapaix case in April 2025, Ezaek Hilaire's murder officially remains unsolved. While the Sûreté du Québec established a firm link between the two homicides, the two men convicted of killing Nitchell Lapaix have not been charged in connection with Ezaek’s death. The investigation, led by the SQ's Division of Investigations into Murders and Disappearances Linked to Organized Crime, is still active.

Authorities continue to seek information that could bring resolution to the 2017 homicide. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Sûreté du Québec's anonymous tip line at 1-800-659-4264.