At about 7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 21, 1964 Montreal taxi driver Joseph-Guy Smith dropped a young woman at a funeral parlour at the corner of Saint-Hubert and Crémazie. Police theorized that shortly afterward he was hailed by a man who asked to be driven to Laval-des-Rapides, then a village about 10 km (6 1/4 miles) northwest of Montreal. At about 8:00 p.m. a motorist driving through the village noticed a taxi at the north end of Laval Street where it terminated at an open field. The taxi seemed to be bogged down at the roadside. On investigating he found Mr. Smith's body lying on the ground a few feet from the car. The man drove to the nearest house about a quarter mile away to call for help but was so unnerved that he drove off the road and got stuck himself. He had to make his way to the house on foot. At the murder scene police found a sawed-off lever-action 30-30 rifle along with a knife and scabbard. The killer also abandoned a reversible jacket, a cap and a pair of gloves. Mr. Smith was evidently killed as soon as he got to Laval-des-Rapides. A woman who lived at the nearest house recalled hearing a gunshot about five minutes to 8 o'clock, but this was all the information the police were able to gather. On March 15, 1964, with no leads, police asked newspapers to print close-up photographs of the weapons and clothing in hopes that someone would recognize them. Mr. Smith was married with one child.

Weapons and clothing left at the murder scene by Joseph-Guy Smith's killer. (Source: Photo-Journal, March 14-21, 1964, p. 8 via Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. )