Montreal murder suspect dies in custody weeks before trial; coroner investigating

The man accused of killing 45-year-old mother Leila Ben Salem in Montreal has died in custody, and the case will not go to trial. The Montreal Coroner's Office confirmed that Youcef Moussaoui, 33, died on November 2 at Bordeaux jail; coroner Andréjean Luc is investigating the cause and circumstances of the death, which have not been disclosed. (Archive image: a courthouse.)

Due in court December 21; inquiry confidential until the final report

Moussaoui had been due to appear in court in Montreal on December 21. A spokesperson for the coroner's office said the coroner's investigation is confidential until the release of the final report, which will be public. Moussaoui was arrested on October 15 and taken into custody, more than three weeks after Ben Salem was killed on September 22.

Victim killed during a work video call; police point to financial trouble

Ben Salem was killed on September 22 in her apartment on René-Lévesque Boulevard while she was on a videoconference work call. Montreal police said Moussaoui had done some work at Ben Salem's home and that a “relationship of trust” had developed between them; investigators said the accused was experiencing financial difficulties and facing demands for repayment of important sums that had been lent to him, and that financial transactions had been carried out on the victim's accounts after her death. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre both offered condolences to Ben Salem's family, colleagues and loved ones in the House of Commons in September.