Michel Boulianne, 36, had driven a taxi in Trois-Rivières for three or four years when, in June, 1985, he became an owner-driver for Taxi Co-op. Mr. Boulianne was married with two children, a nine-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son. At about 7 p.m. on Sunday, August 26, 1985 he left home for his night shift. Early Monday morning he was dispatched to Le Gitan, a bar on Boulevard Des Forges. At about 5 a.m. Monday Mr. Boulianne's wife Murielle reported him missing. At about 6:20 a.m. police found him dead in his taxi in the parking lot of École Saint-Francois-Xavier, an adult education centre. He had been stabbed more than 20 times in the abdomen and back. There was $2.35 on the meter, which did not jibe with the distance from Le Gitan to École Saint-Francois-Xavier. His wallet, which had contained about $90, was missing. In addition to his own family Mr. Boulianne was survived by his parents, two brothers and two sisters. Taxi Co-op suspended operations during Mr. Boulianne's funeral. The company taxis displayed Mr. Boulianne's number on their roof lights. About 150 cabs from Trois-Rivières and other cities joined the funeral procession. On September 24, 1985 Paul Boisvert, the vice-president of Taxi Co-op, announced that about ten of the company's owner-drivers had decided to install protective shields in their cabs. They were concerned about increasing violence against taxi drivers, but Mr. Boulianne's murder had brought these concerns to a head. Mr. Boisvert said that more owner-drivers would likely install shields eventually. Meanwhile the Sûreté du Québec reported slow progress in their investigation and appealed to the public for help. There were few clues to go on and police could not say for sure whether Mr. Boulianne had been attacked by one or more than one killer. On January 24, 1986 the Sûreté published the sketch of a murder suspect. The man was 1.6 metres tall (5 feet 3 inches) weighed about 65 kg (140 pounds), had greying brown hair, scratches on his forehead and bandages on his left hand. Nothing came of this lead, however. On the first anniversary of Mr. Boulianne's death the Trois-Rivières daily Le Nouvelliste interviewed his widow, Murielle. She said that when she visited her husband's grave the day before she was surprised and touched to see it covered with flowers. "People remember Michel," she said. Initially she had been terrified that the killers would come after her and the children, and all three slept in the same room. She also found herself suddenly in charge of the family finances and in danger of losing their house. Mr. Boulianne was scheduled to sign mortgage papers on the day after his death. As a housewife in 1967, Murielle Boulianne did not have the standing to take over the debt. Luckily she was able to purchase the house outright thanks to help from her brother and to savings that Mr. Boulianne had set aside. She was also able to sell the taxi. [Next column]

Michel Boulianne from his Trois-Rivières taxi license (Source: Sûreté du Québec, Dossiers non résolus: Michel Boulianne) Mr. Boulianne's death had a traumatic impact on the family. "I would like to cry and break things, but I have to control myself for the sake of the children," said Mrs. Boulianne. Her son, now eight, had become withdrawn and could not accept his father's death. Her ten-year-old daughter was more expressive: "We don't laugh as much in the house," she said. "I wish he was here. I miss him." "I will never forgive my husband's killers," said Mrs. Boulianne. "Not even if the parish priest tells me that if I don't forgive them, that if I hold on to this hatred, I will never rest easy in my skin." Mr. Boulianne's case soon went cold, with no further developments other than brief mentions in year-end or decade-end newspaper crime summaries. Then in November, 2019, the Sûreté du Québec tried a new tactic to revive public interest in the 34-year-old murder case. Once again appealing for help, they set up a "command post" near where Mr. Boulianne's body was found. By ten a.m. they were already receiving calls. "Actually, some people have already contacted us," said Sgt. Eloïse Cossette, a spokesperson for the SQ's Mauricie-Lanaudière division. "They've approached us and that's why we're here." "This approach has produced results. Even if it's been a long time, people still come forward with information," she said. "And in the meantime you have to remember, investigative technology has evolved, science has evolved. We didn't have those resources in the 1980s."