Marc Gauthier
Val-d'Or, QC / Sept. 1, 2002
At about 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2002 a local resident on an all-terrain vehicle was driving to work along Lac Blouin's Rotary Beach when he discovered a parked Val d'Or taxi. The driver, 31-year-old Marc Gauthier, was sitting behind the wheel. He had been shot to death by a bullet to the head.
Gauthier was last heard from earlier Sunday morning when he told his dispatcher that he was taking a passenger to Lac Blouin. When nothing more was heard of him the dispatcher reported him missing.
No murder weapon was found and press coverage was minimal even in local papers.
This case was not recorded as a taxi driver homicide by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics in 2002 (occupational homicides have been recorded in the annual "Homicide in Canada" issue of the Centre's Juristat newsletter since 1991. See Data Sources: Canada).
In response to a query about the Gauthier case the Centre stated that "we are confident that all homicides that occurred in the province of Québec in 2002 were counted and included in our figures for that year. As well, any homicides that police indicated were associated with a victim's occupation were also recorded."
The Centre was prevented by confidentiality restrictions from giving any further explanation as to why the Gauthier case was not classified as an occupational homicide.
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