Woman arrested in death of abandoned newborn had spent morning at homeless shelter

MONTREAL — A woman arrested in the death of a newborn found alone at a Montreal-area bus stop on Monday had spent the early morning hours at a homeless shelter ahead of the discovery.

Pierre Rousseau, general manager of the Halte du Coin homeless shelter in Longueuil, Que., on Montreal’s South Shore, said the woman came in about 3 a.m. Monday — about three and a half hours before the discovery of the baby, who was found about 700 metres away.

At the time, it was chilly outside with temperatures hovering around 3 C in the Montreal region overnight.

“She arrived at the local drop-in centre without really asking for anything except to warm up and sit down,” Rousseau said in an interview.

He added that his staff didn’t notice anything unusual or signs of distress.

“And even though our beds were all full that night, we still welcome people because we have a warming centre,” he said. “So we welcomed the woman.”

He declined to say whether he or his staff knew anything about the personal circumstances of the 33-year-old woman.

But Rousseau said the deepening homelessness crisis is undeniable, noting the lineup for people waiting for shelter grows every night.

Rousseau said he saw the woman in a chair near his office when he arrived for work at around 8 a.m. that morning and they exchanged hellos.

He said she had slept there overnight.

“I didn’t notice anything until she got up from her chair in which she had been sitting for a very long time, that’s when we realized that there was something wrong, something was amiss,” Rousseau said.

He declined to elaborate on what they observed at that time, but explained that Longueuil police officers were already on site and took charge of the woman.

“Otherwise, we would have called them too, because we made observations that could link this woman to the childbirth,” Rousseau added.

Police have not confirmed whether the woman was the mother of the baby, saying only that she was transferred to the health care network and may face charges.

Police received a 911 call about the baby found at the bus shelter at about 6:30 a.m., and the child was declared dead in hospital at 8 a.m.

Jacqueline Pierre, a Longueuil police spokeswoman, said on Tuesday that authorities remain focused on the woman’s physical and mental health.

Police have said a charge of infanticide was a possibility in the case, and that the woman was released to health care authorities.

The incident this week marked the second time in less than a month that someone reported finding a newborn alone in the city of Longueuil.

In the other incident, a newborn was left at a Longueuil residence on Oct. 5, but survived.

The premature baby boy was found on the porch of a home at around 11 p.m., after someone rang the doorbell and fled. Doctors determined the boy was born after 34 weeks’ gestation.

Police have released footage of someone they say is a person of interest in this case.

There have been no updates in that first incident.

Rousseau noted the suburban homeless shelter has two projects underway to provide medical and mental health care on site.

“It’s a human tragedy and it has disturbed us all,” Rousseau said. “We are used to distress, but there are moments or situations that hurt us more.”

Rouseau also said that shelters for unhoused people are a “temporary response” and not a permanent solution to assist people in need of housing.

“It’s a sad story waiting for another sad story,” Rousseau said.

He also expressed frustration about the housing crisis, noting “there is something that is broken in the system” if solutions are still years away.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2025.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press