Brossard Femicide: Tracking Bracelet System Under Fire After Tragedy

The bloodstained snow outside a quiet Brossard home has become the latest symbol of a systemic failure in protecting victims of intimate partner violence. Shortly after midnight on Monday, February 2, 2026, police discovered the bodies of Sonia Maricela Gonzalez Vasquez, 54, and her husband, Marcos Amilcar Diaz Lopez, 56, in what has been confirmed as a murder-suicide.

This tragedy marks the sixth femicide in Quebec since the start of the year—a staggering rate of one per week. For advocates, the horror is compounded by the fact that the legal system had already flagged Lopez as a high-risk offender, only to let the safety net unravel months before the killing.

A History of “Attempted Murder”

The violence in the Bienvenue Avenue residence was not a sudden escalation. Court records reveal a chilling history of domestic abuse that the legal system initially took seriously:

• December 2024: Lopez was charged with assaulting his wife twice in 48 hours.
• The Weapon: The second assault involved a 30-centimetre-long knife. Police reports at the time explicitly described the event as an attempted murder.
• The Conditions: Upon being granted bail, Lopez was ordered to live elsewhere, undergo anger management, and wear an electronic tracking bracelet—a cornerstone of Quebec’s recent strategy to combat conjugal violence.

Despite an immediate breach of conditions on December 20, 2024—where Lopez was caught within one kilometre of his wife—the monitoring system was eventually deemed a “success” because he followed the rules for a few months afterward.

The Fatal De-escalation

The protective measures meant to save Gonzalez Vasquez were dismantled with startling speed. In May 2025, all conditions against Lopez were dropped, including the tracking bracelet and the no-contact order. By December 2025, the criminal charges for assault with a weapon and harassment were stayed entirely.

Quebec’s public prosecution service has yet to explain why the charges were abandoned, though they are currently reviewing court recordings from the hearings.

National Impact: A “Collective Failure”

Public Security Minister Ian Lafrenière has formally labelled the death a “femicide,” acknowledging that while measures were in place, the outcome was “unfortunately this result”. His comments have done little to quiet the growing outrage from domestic violence groups.

Across Canada, the pace of femicides has accelerated from one every six days to roughly one every five days. In Quebec specifically, reports of intimate partner violence have tripled over the last decade, reaching over 12,800 cases annually.

“It’s a collective failure to protect women. Something is wrong in our society,” says Claudine Thibaudeau, clinical coordinator for SOS Violence Conjugale.

Next Tuesday, a coalition of more than 50 care homes will protest outside the National Assembly, demanding a surge in resources for victims in the upcoming provincial budget. They argue that electronic bracelets are “not a magic solution” if the legal system lacks the resolve to keep charges active for high-risk offenders.

Takeaways

• Systemic Lapse: The victim was killed by a man previously charged with her attempted murder, but whose charges were dropped weeks prior.
• Tracking Bracelet Limits: The electronic monitoring was hailed as a success before being removed entirely in May 2025.
• Crisis Point: This is the 6th femicide in Quebec in the first six weeks of 2026.