At about 1:15 a.m. on December 28, 1960, motorist Daniel Beauregard was driving east along highway 8. At Renaud, just outside the eastern boundary of suburban St. Martin, he saw a body hurled from a fast-moving car. The body landed in a snowbank and the car sped on. Mr. Beauregard immediately drove back to the St. Martin police station to report the incident. Two police officers went to the scene and found the body of taxi driver André Goudreau. It was later determined that Mr. Goudreau had been shot in the right side at point blank range. The bullet ricocheted upward into his left armpit. A second bullet had nicked the top of his shoulder. Mr. Goudreau's taxi was found at the corner of Sherbrooke and Pie IX streets about 3 p.m. Residents told police that the car had been parked there since 3 o'clock in the morning, less than two hours after the murder. Mr. Goudreau's taxi was not equipped with a radio so he had no chance to call for help. Mr. Goudreau, 34, was married but had no children. He had worked for Diamond Taxi since January, 1949. "We never had any complaints about him," said his supervisor at Diamond. "Usually I only see the drivers when there's some complaint about their work." He had driven for the same cab owner for four years. Mr. Goudreau's brother Victor, himself a former taxi driver, said that Mr. Goudreau usually cruised the Rosemount-Mount Royal Avenue East area in northeast Montréal. Several cab drivers had recently been attacked and robbed in the area. This, and the gangland-style of the murder made police suspect that it was the work of and organized gang. Mr. Goudreau's brother said he left for work as usual about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, December 27. He did indicate that he had been threatened or had any trouble. Rev. Paul Aquin, who had known Mr. Goudreau for four years, called him "The cream of the crop, one of the best.... He was a quiet boy who was taking care of his mother. He never had any argument with anyone." Police found $67 on Mr. Goudreau's body , suggesting that robbery might not have been a motive.. He also had several lottery tickets on him, which suggested a possible link with two other recent murders of young men who were found with lottery tickets. Police arrested several people, including two women, for questioning but released them all and the case remained unsolved. [Next column]

Father Paul Aquin's mobile chapel, "Le Bon Dieu en Taxi," from which he conducted drive-in masses during the 1950s and 1960s. (Source: "La chepelle mobile 'Le bon Dieu en taxi à Montréal' (detail), via Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.) "Taxi-drivers are hard-working men doing a public service," said Father Aquin, who ran a mobile chapel for Montréal taxi drivers called "Le Bon Dieu en Taxi". "Goudreau was sleeping and getting up to work. The only rest he had was in the restaurants where he stopped to eat. He was cruising all the time." Mr. Gourdreau's widow made a claim as beneficiary of his life insurance policy, but it was denied. The insurance company argued that their policy only covered murder in case of robbery, and since Mr. Goudreau had not been robbed the claim was invalid. Mrs. Goudreau successfully sued the company in 1964 and was awarded $3,000. The judge noted that robbery could have been a motive for the murder even if the money was not taken. The widow of Anthony Ekunah was similarly denied an insurance claim. Even though Mr. Ekunah was found murdered in his taxi, an insurance arbitrator ruled that "there was no objective evidence" that his death was connected with his use of the car as a taxi.