MONTREAL — Mexican authorities say they have found the body of a missing Quebec woman whose partner returned to the province alone and promptly committed suicide.
Christine St-Onge hadn’t been heard from since speaking to a member of her entourage Dec. 4.
Officials in Mexico told reporters Wednesday evening that St-Onge’s body was found near a hotel in Los Cabos where she’d been staying and that her body bore marks of violence.
Sgt. Claude Denis of the Quebec provincial police says an autopsy will be performed in Quebec once the body is repatriated to officially confirm the identity.
Denis said investigators have been in contact with St-Onge’s family to inform them of the latest information. They are also in contact with Mexican police, who are finishing up their investigation, and an RCMP liaison officer is on site in Mexico.
The male friend she was travelling with, Pierre Bergeron, returned home a day earlier than planned and died the next day of an apparent suicide. The Quebec coroner’s office confirmed Thursday it is investigating Bergeron’s death.
Mexican officials held a news conference Wednesday to announce St-Onge’s body was discovered earlier in the day near the resort where she had been staying.
According to local media outlet BCS Noticias, Daniel de la Rosa Anaya, a Mexican prosecutor, said there were signs of a struggle and traces of blood inside the hotel room the couple shared.
Authorities believe St-Onge was killed inside the room and moved by Bergeron in the middle of the night.
An autopsy was performed in Mexico, with the cause of death described as traumatic brain injury. Mexican officials said St-Onge had been dead between five and seven days.
St-Onge, a travel agent from the Montreal suburb of Laval, travelled to Mexico on Nov. 29 with Bergeron. They were scheduled to return to Canada Dec. 6.
Mexican officials said Bergeron returned home alone without luggage and with St-Onge’s return ticket, BCS Noticias reported.
A member of St-Onge’s family said Thursday they did not want to speak to media. A friend has started a Go Fund Me page for St-Onge’s two sons.