CTV News Montreal

Updated: Fri Nov. 06 2009 5:46:55 PM

ctvmontreal.ca

Exactly one month after Natasha Cournoyer's body was found in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Montreal and Laval police have arrested a man in her murder.

48-year-old Claude Larouche appeared in court Friday to be charged with first-degree murder.

He entered a plea of not guilty.

The Montreal police major crimes section arrested Larouche Thursday evening at his home in Ahuntsic, where he lives with a woman and children.

Cournoyer, 37, was found dead in Montreal's east end last month, five days after she disappeared from a Corrections Canada parking lot in Laval on Oct. 1.

Police say her murder was completely random.

"There is no link, absolutely no link, personal link between the victim and the suspect," said Montreal Police Inspector Daniel Rousseau.

Larouche's history

Larouche is a carpenter with several prior convictions for multiple crimes, including sexual assault.

In 2005 he was sentenced to 40 months in jail for attempting to kidnap a seven-year-old girl.

Police say because of his record, they had DNA evidence for him on file.

Prosecutors are still waiting for more DNA results, but at the moment they believe the killer acted alone.

Cournoyer's disappearance

A security camera caught Cournoyer exiting the building, and it is believed someone attacked her as she was heading toward her car.

With the help of the Surete du Quebec, Laval police launched a large-scale investigation, using helicopters and sniffer dogs to help search for the missing woman.

On Oct. 6, blue collar workers discovered Cournoyer's body in a wooded area in Pointe-Aux-Trembles.

She was an employee in the communications office of Corrections Canada.

Larouche's next court appearance is on December 8.

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