A coroner’s report has concluded a Gatineau couple found dead in their apartment last winter, alongside an unharmed child, died of an accidental fentanyl overdose.
The bodies of 20-year-old Amélie Gauthier-Matte and 32-year-old Christopher Lecouvie were discovered in an advanced state of decomposition on February 27.
The couple is believed to have died four days earlier, on February 23.
Their bodies were found intertwined in bed in an apartment unit at 73 Rue Bégin in the Hull sector.
Lecouvie’s 3-year-old son was also found in the unit with the bodies. He was found safe and unharmed.
According to the coroner’s report, the bodies were only discovered after a neighbor noticed the child throwing toys out of the window. It prompted the neighbor, a friend of the couple, to check on them.
Toxicology tests found fentanyl, MDMA and methamphetamine present in the systems of both Gauthier-Matte and Lecouvie.
Gauthier-Matte was also found to have heroine present in her system, while Lecouvie was found to have cannabis in his.
Gauthier-Matte, originally from northern Ontario, had been in Gatineau since October 2016 to attend school. She had problems with substance addiction.
The coroner’s report stated that Gauthier-Matte and Lecouvie had been seeing each other since the fall. After a conflict between the couple in December, Lecouvie was no longer allowed to see Gauthier-Matte. However the pair continued to see each other and to consume drugs together.
The coroner concluded the couple died of respiratory failure caused by an accidental fentanyl overdose.
