Gerard Mateau, 39, was found dead in his taxi around 9:30 p.m. on December 15, 1965, at the corner of St. Lawrence Boulevard and Villeneuve Street. He was shot four times with a .22 calibre revolver, evidently by someone sitting in the front passenger seat. A man was seen running from the scene shortly before Mr. Mateau's body was discovered. Police theorized that Mr. Mateau was the victim of "underworld revenge". On an earlier occasion Mr. Mateau was robbed and left at an east-end Montréal shopping centre, locked in the trunk of his car. Patrol officers found and released him.