Even in death, the long arm of the law reaches out ... - Ottawa Sun

Even after death, justice finds a way to reach criminals.

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There?s nothing left of Michel Bilodeau but ashes.

But he?s still facing a string of child pornography charges police laid against the 53-year-old after allegedly baiting him in an online chat.

He was dead four days later, his sister told a judge, with his death certificate in hand.

She was told the charges won?t be stayed until the story checks out.

?Someone could just fake their death,? the woman said. ?It just makes sense. You don?t just remove charges because someone comes in and said they?re dead. You want to make sure it?s true.?

Turns out the grieving sister?s situation isn?t that unusual.

Every defence lawyer at the Elgin St. courthouse seems to have a story about a client dying.

There?s even a running joke about the Crown?s usual response of staying the charges.

That legal move means they could theoretically be revived within a year.

?One guy has risen from the dead before,? goes the quip. ?It could happen again.?

Lawyer Jason Gilbert has had half-a-dozen clients die in his 11-year career.

In another case, his client?s co-accused was stabbed to death as he awaited a verdict in an aggravated assault trial.

The man?s grieving family, his lawyer and the victim will never get an answer.

?Who knows what would have happened?? Gilbert said.

Det. Sarah Lawson of the forensic identification section is routinely called to the morgue when people die in trouble with the law.

?If someone dies and they have outstanding charges before the courts, we will fingerprint the deceased and do a comparison to the impressions that were taken in relation to that charge to ensure they were deposited by the same donor,? Lawson said, adding that police have techniques to lift prints off even a decomposed body.

There may be no way to know if one is never found.

Peterborough police said this week that they think a 49-year-old man faked his own death to evade charges of attempted murder and sexual assault, or even to go after his victim.

He left a suicide note at home and his clothes and shoes were found on a Lake Ontario beach.

Bilodeau was found dead in his own home.

It was a broken heart ? and not the charges ? that killed him, his sister said.

He had cried every day since his wife died months before and he himself had been battling cancer for five years.

She?ll be in court April 22 to make sure the charges against her brother die with him.

?He?s not guilty until proven guilty,? she said.

Twitter: @ottawasun_megan

Source: http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/04/12/even-in-death-the-long-arm-of-the-law-reaches-out

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