Man faces 1st degree murder charge for killing in Contrecoeur, Que. | CBC News

One of three people accused in connection with the death of a man whose body was found near Quebec City is now facing a new charge of first-degree murder.

François Bouchard, 31, appeared in a Quebec City courtroom on Friday morning to face an additional charge in connection with the death of Santiago Gaona, 26. 

Bouchard had previously been charged with offering indignity to human remains after Gaona’s remains were discovered at a tree maintenance company in L’Ancienne-Lorette, Que., on Sept. 17.

Bouchard, along with the other two suspects, were arrested in a vehicle in Kahnawà:ke last week.

Cassandra Major, 31, and Jean-Philippe Lamontagne, 44, also face new charges of being an accessory after the fact in connection with the killing. They had previously been charged with offering an indignity to human remains. 

The body was found on Sept. 17, but according to the indictment, Gaona was killed in Contrecoeur, Que., in the Montérégie region, about 220 kilometres southwest of there, between Sept. 8 and 16.

It took investigators several days to determine the victim’s identity because of the state of Gaona’s body. According to Radio-Canada’s sources, the killing is connected to organized crime.

The three suspects, all from the Montreal area, remain in custody and will return to court in November.

Gaona’s Facebook profile says that he was a musician residing in Montreal and was originally from Colombia.