Coroner's report recommends domestic violence training after death of 2 Montreal children, father

Coroner Stéphanie Gamache says health-care professionals need better training when it comes to conjugal violence, and there must be a standardized evaluation of homicide risk after suicide is attempted in the context of a family separation.

These recommendations are among several made in Gamache's report on the murder of two children, aged seven and five, in their Montreal home in 2019 — murders police suspected were committed by their 40-year-old father, Jonathan Pomares, who was also found dead that night in October.

Pomares and the children's mother were in the midst of a separation.

Gamache said Pomares, who was struggling with alcohol and depressive episodes, had tried to kill himself about a week before the incident. He was hospitalized, evaluated and released a few days later.

Ultimately, it was the children's mother who came home after work to discover the bodies in their home in the borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

Gamache said the mother described her daughter, Élise Pomares, as a chatterbox who had a sweet tooth and loved her stuffed animals. Her older son, Hugo, was a bundle of energy who loved sports and had a particular passion for soccer.

"They need a voice because they are victims of domestic violence and we can't forget that," Gamache said.

The coroner said there were red flags leading up to the incident, but she is confident that adjustments are being made to improve how authorities respond to such warning signals and, if the local health authority heeds her recommendations, deaths like these can be prevented in the future.

Gamache also said there's a need to change rules surrounding confidentiality of patient files.

A third psychiatrist examined Pomares when he was hospitalized a week before the incident,  but that psychiatrist didn't have the full portrait of the situation because he wasn't able to communicate with the patient's ex.

"In such a situation where a suicide attempt occurs in a context of imminent separation, it is imperative not to rely solely on the patient's words,'' Gamache said.

She recommended improved communication among health professionals and the creation of a grid incorporating an outside view of the patient's situation to evaluate the risk of homicide in such situations.

Gamache said it's a matter of putting the necessary mechanisms and evaluations in place to protect families. 

"I really do believe that we're [going] in the right direction," Gamache said.