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Le Soleil
by Matthieu Boivin
Posted Feb 5, 2014
(Québec) The prime suspect in the Saint-Isidore-de-Beauce family tragedy, Martin Godin, was not the good family man described by some relatives and portrayed in the media, says Yan Chenel, a former neighbour.
Mr. Chenel remembers Martin Godin as a very religious man struggling with mental health problems. He was taking drugs to treat his condition, says Chenel, adding that his neighbor also used marijuana.
“Weekends when their mother Nancy worked, Medora and Beatrice would spend most of their time with us,” recounted Chenel, who is still reeling from the events of the past weekend.
“They would often have breakfast, lunch and dinner at our place, he added. They played with our children; there was a family atmosphere in our home. He (Godin) regularly slept in until three or four o’clock in the afternoon. He sometimes stayed up all night and slept all day.”
Verbal abuse
Mr. Chenel adds that he witnessed scenes of verbal abuse in which Godin yelled at his wife Nancy Samson, who also lost her life in the tragedy. Still, he says he never saw the 54-year-old hit Mrs. Samson and her two daughters.
He also recalls seeing Godin at his kennel beating his dogs, “dealing them blows with a shovel and punching them.”
“On one occasion, my son saw him kicking a dog. It was not until I got some guys together as witnesses that he stopped. The trauma of that day lasted a long time.
In July 2012, Mr. Chenel decided to move his family after he saw Godin making a number of threats to his wife Nancy Samson over the telephone. Furious, he turned back to his own property as Godin heaped insults on her. The argument seemed to be about a bracelet from the Quebec City Summer Festival and the fact that Mrs. Samson had her husband’s drugs in her car.
“He hung up on her but then called back immediately and shouted crazy things at her. He threatened to set fire to their house! The kids were hidden at our place with some of their friends and they were terrified! I stood in front of our door with a shovel. If he had tried to enter, I would have broken both his legs! ”
“That night, I was so upset that I saw that I decided to move my family elsewhere to sleep.”
“Two Angels”
Several months later, Mr. Chenel moved from Saint-Isidore to another house on the South Shore. Despite Godin’s outrageous behaviour, Mr. Chenel thinks Medora and Beatrice, “two very beautiful, smart girls” loved their father.
“They were two angels with a great zest for life. We are overwhelmed by happened to them. Mr. Chenel believes that “Mrs. Samson under-estimated the danger posed by her husband.”
“When we talked to her about it, she told me that I should not worry, it would all get sorted out. But when she brought the children for a visit a few months later, Nancy told us that Martin’s behavior had not changed and that he was still acting the same.”
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Girl taken off life-support after St-Isidore family tragedy Martin Godin, father, remains prime suspect
Montreal Gazette
By Anne Sutherland, THE GAZETTE
February 5, 2014
MONTREAL — Béatrice Godin, 11, was taken of life support on Tuesday night and died.
Her death brings to four the total of people allegedly killed by Martin Godin, her father.
Godin remains in critical condition in hospital and Sûrété du Québec Sgt. Richard Gagné said that investigators have not been able to question him about the circumstances surrounding the events of last weekend in the Chaudière-Appalaches area south of Quebec City.
Godin, 54, was found unconscious in his home in Saint-Isidore at midnight Saturday. His two daughters were with him in the house at the time. The eldest, Medora Godin, 13, was declared dead on the scene.
SQ officers went to Godin’s home after a grisly discovery at the home of his former wife on Saturday night.
The bodies of Nancy Samson, 44, and her boyfriend Benoît Daigle, 39, were found at 8:45 p.m. outside a chalet in Ste-Croix-de-Lotbinière, about 70 kilometres away. Samson managed to call 911 before she died.
Sergeant Jean Tremblay with the SQ said that all the victims died a violent death, possibly from gunfire. Godin is the prime suspect in the killings.
asutherland@montrealgazette.com
Le Soleil
(Québec) Le principal suspect derrière le drame familial de Saint-Isidore de Beauce, Martin Godin, n’était pas le bon père de famille que certains proches ont décrit dans les médias, affirme un ancien voisin, Yan Chenel.
M. Chenel se souvient de Martin Godin comme d’un homme très croyant qui était aux prises avec un problème de santé mentale. Il prenait des médicaments pour traiter sa maladie, selon M. Chenel qui ajoute que son voisin pouvait aussi consommer de la marijuana.
«Écoutez, les fins de semaine au cours desquelles Nancy travaillait, Medora et Béatrice pouvaient passer le plus clair de leur temps chez nous», a raconté M. Chenel, toujours sous le choc des derniers développements de la fin de semaine.
«On pouvait les faire déjeuner, dîner et souper, a-t-il ajouté. Elles jouaient avec nos enfants; il y avait une ambiance de famille chez nous. Lui, il se levait régulièrement à trois ou quatre heures de l’après-midi. Il vivait la nuit et dormait parfois toute la journée.»
Violence verbale
M. Chenel ajoute qu’il a déjà été témoin de scènes de violence verbale au cours desquelles Godin engueulait sa conjointe Nancy Samson, qui a aussi perdu la vie dans ce drame. Il précise cependant qu’il n’a jamais vu l’homme de 54 ans frapper Mme Samson ou ses deux filles.
Il se rappelle aussi des nombreuses fois où il a vu Godin battre les chiens de son chenil «à coups de pelle ronde et à coups de poing».
«Une de ces fois-là, mon fils l’a vu donner des coups à un chien. Il a fallu que je ramasse mon gars pour qu’il cesse d’être le témoin de ça. Ça l’a traumatisé un bon bout de temps.»
Une journée de juillet 2012, M. Chenel a pris la décision de déménager sa famille quand il aurait vu Godin formuler de nombreuses menaces téléphoniques à sa conjointe Nancy Samson. En furie, il tournait en rond sur sa propriété alors qu’il la couvrait de commentaires peu élogieux. Le différend aurait reposé sur un simple bracelet du Festival d’été de Québec et sur le fait que Mme Samson avait les médicaments de son conjoint dans sa voiture.
«Il raccrochait et il la rappelait tout de suite pour lui crier des bêtises. Il l’avait carrément menacée de vouloir mettre le feu à leur maison! Les petites étaient cachées chez nous avec quelques-unes de leurs amies et elles étaient terrorisées! Moi, je me tenais devant la porte avec une pelle. S’il essayait d’entrer, je lui cassais les deux jambes!»
«Ce soir-là, j’étais tellement à l’envers de ce que j’avais vu que j’ai décidé de coucher ailleurs avec ma famille.»
«Deux anges»
Quelques mois plus tard, M. Chenel quittait sa résidence de Saint-Isidore pour aller s’installer dans une autre maison sur la Rive-Sud. Malgré tous les excès de Godin, M. Chenel pense que Medora et Béatrice, «deux belles filles très intelligentes», aimaient tout de même leur père.
«C’étaient deux anges et elles avaient une belle joie de vivre. On est tellement affectés de ce qui leur est arrivé.» Mme Samson, croit M. Chenel, sous-estimait le danger que pouvait représenter son conjoint.
«Quand on lui parlait de ça, elle disait que ça allait s’arranger, qu’il fallait pas s’en faire. Quand elle est venue nous voir avec les deux petites il y a deux mois, Nancy nous avait alors dit que le comportement de Martin n’avait pas changé; que c’était du pareil au même.»