MONTREAL — Police in Quebec say a 36-year-old man has been charged with three counts of murder in the killings of his wife and two children in Brossard, a suburb of Montreal.
Mohamad Al Ballouz was charged Monday at the Longueuil courthouse, just south of Montreal.
Al Ballouz faces one count of second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Synthia Bussières, and two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his children.
Al Ballouz, who is also charged with arson, will remain detained.
Longueuil police say they had not been called to the residence previously, and the suspect was not known to them.
Firefighters were called to a condominium early Sunday where a fire alarm had been set off, and they found the mother and children unconscious inside the 12th-floor unit.
The 38-year-old woman and two children, aged five and two, were declared dead in hospital.
The suspect, who was also inside the apartment, was arrested at the scene.
Autopsies will be performed on the victims to determine the cause of death.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2022.
The Canadian Press
