Archive - 1957
Homicide #??
Victim - Lamontagne, Leo (19)
Accused - UNSOLVED
Charge -
At about 4:20 a.m., on Saturday, September 7, 1957, a police beat officer made a regular stop at the Hub Service Station, then located on the corner of Provencher and Tache in St. Boniface, to check on the night attendant.
The officer found the attendant, 19-year old Leo Lamontagne, slumped over the office desk, unconscious. His head was bleeding and there was a large pool of blood on the floor near where he was sitting. The officer was able to rouse Leo momentarily, however he was unaware of what had happened to him. He was immediately rushed to the St. Bonifice hospital where he succumbed to his injuries four days later on September 11, 1957. The cause of death was the result of three blows to the back of the head with a blunt object.
Leo’s employer and several patrons were in the gas station as late as 1:30 a.m. and Leo was last seen alive at 1:50 a.m. by an employee of the restaurant across the street when he picked up his car from the Hub lot after work. At that time Leo was in the process of washing down the garage floors in the service bays. Two uniform patrol officer’s passed through the Hub lot at 2:20 a.m. and while they did not see Leo, they noted that the service bay windows were all steamed up as if someone was washing the floors.
At about 2:30 a.m. two youths pulled their car into the Service Station to fill up with gas. They had driven to the south side pumps nearest the office and waited for a few moments. When no one came out, the driver opened his door to get out, however a male suddenly appeared in the office entering from the garage area. The male came outside and when the youths asked the man if they could get some gas, they were told that the pumps were closed and that they were busy washing cars inside. The male then pushed the driver’s door closed, walked back into the office and watched the youths until they drove away. The youths subsequently bought their gas down the street at Marion and Tache.
The male who came out of the Service Station was not Leo Lamontagne. As Leo worked the night shift alone, he is believed to be one of the killers. He was described by the youths as being a white male in his 30’s (now 70), standing about 5’8”, fairly well built and with light brown hair. The male was wearing a beige or khaki shirt and matching pants. The clothing was inconsistent with that of a service attendant. A composite drawing was made of the suspect’s description and circulated to the media, however this male was never identified.
An examination of the service bays revealed that the floors had been recently washed, however a pool of blood and an iron bar found near the grease pit revealed that Leo had been attacked from behind in the garage. Miraculously he had managed to stumble from the garage to the office where he passed out at the desk where the beat officer found him.
According to the cash register tapes there was a total of $105.55 missing from the till, including $72.00 in cash and $33.55 in credit card receipts. In addition, there was a gasoline shortage of $16.69. Robbery was obviously the motive and based on the missing gas it is believed that the suspect(s) also had a car at their disposal. While there were no times on the cash register tape, the last entry was for an amount corresponding to the sale made to a customer who had been in the store at 1:30 a.m.
At about 2:45 a.m. a taxi driver passed the Service Station taking a fare to Notre Dame Avenue. At this time he noticed a ‘46 or ‘48 Dodge or Plymouth Sedan, light blue, parked near the office door, facing west. He did not see anyone around and considering there was no sale after about 1:30 a.m., it is possible that this car belonged to the killer(s).
If you have any information about this case, please contact Crime Stoppers at 786-TIPS (8477).
Unsolved Details taken directly from Winnipeg Police Service website.