Police in Quebec City say they have found a knife not far from where a two-year-old girl was found stabbed to death last week.
Rosalie Gagnon’s body was found in a garbage bin last Wednesday. An autopsy concluded she had been stabbed to death.
The toddler’s mother, 23-year-old Audrey Gagnon, is in police custody facing charges of mischief, violating probation, and obstructing the work of a police officer.
On Sunday, just before noon, police say a citizen found the knife on the grounds of an affordable housing building about a kilometre from where Rosalie's body was found, and turned it over to police.
It’s unclear if the knife is linked to the murder, but investigators say they are taking the discovery of the potential evidence seriously.
Police set up a perimeter where the knife was found so that forensic technicians could analyze the scene. The knife will also undergo tests for fingerprints and DNA evidence.
Investigators believe they have also located the owner of the garbage can where the girl’s body was found, but would not give any more details.
A memorial to the little girl has grown on the street in the Charlesbourg neighbourhood where the little girl’s body was found, with mourners dropping off dozens of stuffed animals and flowers.
Meanwhile, Quebec Youth Protection Minister Lucie Charlebois called for an inquiry into the death, to determine what services the Gagnon family had received.
With a report from CTV Montreal’s Amanda Klein
