Inuk woman charged with murder was abuse victim: Montreal shelter

Jessie Quannaaluk, originally from Ivujivik, was charged with the second degree murder Feb. 18 in the stabbing death of Paul Brown, with whom she’s been in a relationship for some time. (SPVM PHOTO)

Staff at the Montreal women’s shelter Chez Doris were in the process of helping an Inuk woman find a place to live when she was arrested and charged with killing her boyfriend last week.

Jessie Quannaaluk, originally from Ivujivik, was charged with the second degree murder Feb. 18 in the stabbing death of Paul Brown, with whom she’d been in a relationship for some time.

Quannaaluk had been a long-time client at Chez Doris, which offers a support program targeted at Inuit women on the streets and in difficulty.

Staff at the centre say Quannaaluk herself was the victim of abuse by the man she’s accused of killing.

Reports also say Brown had been in court on the day he was killed to respond to allegations that he sexually assaulted two minors.

“For years, our caseworkers had witnessed the physical and emotional trauma inflicted on her by the deceased, Paul Brown,” said Marina Boulos-Winton, the interim executive director at Chez Doris. “In and out of homelessness, we were in the process of placing Jessie Quannaaluk in her own apartment. “

But contrary to a couple of reports in Montreal’s French-language media, Boulos-Winton said that Quannaaluk was not arrested at the shelter.

And nor was the murder victim, Paul Brown, a victim himself of spousal abuse, she added.

“It is indeed a very sad story,” Boulos-Winton said. “The staff at Chez Doris are very much chagrined by the whole situation.”

Chez Doris, whose Inuit-focused program is funded through Makivik Corp., continues to offer support to Quannaaluk while she’s detained at Montreal’s Tanguay detention centre, by providing her visitation, clothing and spending money.

Quannaaluk is being represented by a lawyer from the native para-judicial service of Quebec. She appears in court again March 6.