North Bay man found guilty of 1980 murder, eligible for parole after 15 years
North Bay man found guilty of 1980 murder, eligible for parole after 15 years
The man charged 40 years after the brutal murder of a North Bay woman in her home has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Roger Deschenes will be 78 years old when he becomes eligible for parole for killing Micheline St. Amour in her East Ferris home on July 10, 1980.
He was originally charged Nov. 18, 2020, with first-degree murder, however was found guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder last month, the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General confirmed to CTV News. The first-degree murder charge was withdrawn and no pretrial custody was credited.
St. Amour was 20 years old when she was stabbed to death in her bedroom, leaving behind a husband and two-year-old daughter.
Ontario Provincial Police credited advances in DNA technology with helping catch her killer.
"The day you look forward to as a criminal investigator is being able to tell a family what happened to their loved one," said OPP Det. Insp. Kurtis Fredericks.
"There is no closure to a family that loses a family member this way, but there is a sense of resolution and having answers to questions they’ve had for years about the loss of their loved one."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada recession: It's coming, RBC predicts, but how long will the downturn last?
Canada is headed towards a moderate recession, but the economic contraction is expected to be short-lived compared to previous recessions, economists with Royal Bank of Canada predict.

One scandal too many: British PM Boris Johnson resigns
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation Thursday amid a mass revolt by top members of his government, marking an end to three tumultuous years in power in which he brazenly bent and sometimes broke the rules of British politics.
Hospital 'nightmare' in B.C. for Quebec patient denied surgery: father
A Quebec man who fell and broke his jaw, cheekbone and a bone around his left eye while visiting British Columbia says his surgery was cancelled after he was told his home province “won't pay” for the procedure.
Canada elections commissioner reviewing information related to Conservative allegations against Brown
The Commissioner of Canada Elections' office says it has received and is reviewing information related to the allegations raised by the Conservative Party of Canada that now-disqualified leadership contender Patrick Brown's campaign violated federal election financing rules.
Here's who could replace Boris Johnson as U.K. prime minister
Boris Johnson was due to resign as Britain's prime minister on Thursday, bringing an end to a turbulent two and half years in office and triggering a search for a new leader.
Man pulled from burning car by five others on Ontario highway in 'heroic effort'
Five men are being hailed as heroes by the Ontario Provincial Police after saving a man from a burning vehicle on a Toronto-area highway earlier this week.
The next stage in the battle against COVID-19: bivalent vaccines
Several vaccine manufacturers are racing to develop formulas that take into account the more infectious Omicron variant now driving cases, while policymakers are laying the groundwork for another large-scale vaccine blitz.
Real estate agent: Many people 'desperate to sell right now'
As concerns grow that Canada's red-hot real estate market may be starting to cool, one real estate agent in Toronto says that some homeowners in the city are becoming increasingly 'desperate to sell right now.'
Some medical schools in Canada face cadaver shortage
With donations of cadavers falling, medical students may lack 'fundamental knowledge' of human anatomy, says a UBC medical professor.