Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
One of North America’s worst mass murders took place on September 9, 1949. On that day, a Canadian Pacific Airlines DC-3C passenger plane exploded 65 kilometers east of Quebec City, killing 23 people. But the explosion was not a tragic accident, but the act of Albert Guay, an inconspicuous jeweler from Quebec, to kill his wife. This catastrophe and the associated discovery of an almost perfect murder shook the world in 1949 and is still considered one of the most cruel and ruthless crimes in history. Albert’s sole aim was to get rid of his wife, but what followed was a tragedy of unimaginable proportions: an entire plane went up in flames, killing 23 people. The details of this shocking case are still the subject of numerous true crime stories. Joseph Albert Guy was born in Quebec in 1917, the youngest of five children. He was considered a spoiled young man who always had to get his way, which later benefited him in his career. Albert was a born salesman who initially sold jewelry and other goods on a commission basis until he got a job at Canadian Arsenals Limited in St. Malo in 1939 when World War II broke out. There he also met Rita Morel, whom he later married. After the arsenal closed in 1945, he opened a jewelry store in Quebec City. Both professionally and privately, everything was going perfectly. Finally, their marital bliss was crowned with the birth of a child. But since the birth, Albert felt like he was playing second fiddle, and his business was going from bad to worse, so he accumulated debts. He found refuge with 43-year-old Marguerite Pitre, who ran a guesthouse in the area, where he met and fell in love with 17-year-old waitress Marie-Ange Robitailley. Albert began a passionate affair with her, pretending to be a bachelor and even putting an engagement ring on Marie-Ange’s finger. When Albert’s wife Rita found out about it in the fall of 1948, she confronted Marie-Ange’s parents, who threw her out of the house. Marguerite then took her in as a subtenant at her boarding house. Marie-Ange repeatedly tried to end her relationship with Albert, who forced her to continue it. Marguerite always stood by Albert. She saw him as a kind of foster son. Marguerite was a colorful personality, voluptuous in stature and always dressed in black, which is why she was also called “Madame le Corbeau,” “Mrs. Raven.” After his relationship with Marie-Ange, whom he knew under the alias Roger Angers, became public, Albert had only one thing in mind: he wanted to kill his wife, as divorce was almost impossible in strictly Catholic Quebec. At first, he wanted a friend to give his wife Rita a bottle of poisoned wine to drink for $500, but the friend refused. Then he came up with the reckless idea of asking a taxi driver friend to place a bomb in the trunk of his taxi. The driver was to fake an engine failure while chauffeuring Albert and Rita. The plan was for Albert to offer the taxi driver his help and for both of them to get out of the taxi. Then the bomb would explode. But Albert’s friend wanted nothing to do with this plan. So Albert came up with another diabolical plan, one that was far more murderous and would not only give him his freedom but also financial benefits. Albert wanted to get his wife out of the way, but he wanted to make sure that no suspicion fell on him. After careful consideration, he decided on a method that would be both effective and spectacular: an airplane explosion. Albert came up with this idea after a passenger plane crashed into the sea near the Philippines on May 7, 1949, following the detonation of a time bomb. To this end, he contacted Généreux Ruest, Marguerite’s brother, who was a watchmaker and an expert in explosives. Ruest agreed to the murder plot in exchange for a discount on a ring. In August 1949, Albert began detailed preparations for his plan. He booked a flight for his wife from Quebec City to Baie-Comeau to pick up two suitcases of jewelry. At the same time, he arranged a business trip for himself to have an alibi. The bomb that Ruest made for him was cleverly hidden in a suitcase and placed so that it would have its deadly effect during the flight. Marguerite had purchased the ingredients for the bomb at a hardware store, supposedly to clear a field. Marguerite wanted to help Albert, who wanted to forgive her $600 debt for it. Before the flight, Marguerite dropped off a package containing the bomb for air freight to Baie-Comeau. It was supposed to explode as soon as the plane was over the water, destroying all evidence. On September 9, 1949, Rita unsuspectingly boarded the Canadian Pacific Airlines DC-3 C passenger plane. Shortly after takeoff, the bomb exploded and the plane crashed into the woods of Sault-au-Cochon. The explosion was so violent that no one on board survived. Twenty-three people, including Rita, died in this unimaginable atrocity. Since the plane had crashed on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River near Sault-au-Cochon due to the delay, it did not take long for investigators to discover that it was a deliberate bomb attack after finding traces of explosives in the cargo hold. As there were three New York businessmen on board, including the president of Kennecott Copper Corporation, E. T. Stannard, the US authorities demanded a comprehensive investigation into the incident. The Cold War had just begun, and it was possible that this was a communist terrorist attack. However, this assumption was quickly ruled out. The investigation quickly focused on the people who had checked in a package, as the bomb had been placed in the front luggage compartment. Witness statements led investigators to focus on Marguerite, as she had nervously checked in a package. When she said during questioning that she had acted on behalf of Albert Guay, who had taken out a $10,000 life insurance policy for his wife on the day of the disaster and had already tried to claim the sum from the insurance company after only three days, he came under suspicion. Further investigations and witness statements clearly pointed the finger at Albert Guay. When investigators took a closer look at Albert, they discovered the connection between him, Généreux Ruest, and Marguerite Pitre. In addition, both the life insurance policy and his relationship with Marie-Ange Robitailley provided a perfect motive for murder. Both Marguerite and Généreux claimed to have known nothing about the bomb. While Marguerite believed the package contained a statue, Généreux believed that Albert Guay only wanted to use the bomb to blow up tree stumps. Marguerite even made an unsuccessful suicide attempt after the crash. Albert was eventually arrested and charged with murder. The trial against Albert Guay revealed further shocking details of his perfidious plan and criminal intentions. Albert Guay was tried and sentenced to death. After his conviction, he stated that Marguerite and Généreux had knowingly helped him. They were arrested and also sentenced to death by hanging. On January 12, 1951, Albert was executed at the age of 33, his last words being, “At least I die famous.” On July 25, 1952, at the age of 54, Génereux Ruest was hanged, having to be wheeled to the gallows in a wheelchair due to his bone tuberculosis. The last of the Trio Infernale, Marguerite was hanged on January 9, 1953, as the thirteenth and last woman to be hanged in Canada. The brutality and cold-heartedness of Albert Guay shocked the public and led to intense media coverage. The Albert Guay case remains one of the most notorious murder cases in Canadian history. The tragedy of the plane crash and the cruel motivation behind it are still part of true crime literature today and serve as a cautionary tale of the depths of human malice. The victims of the attack will never be forgotten, and the shocking crime serves as a constant reminder that deadly secrets sometimes lurk behind the facade of everyday life. This incredible story is a memorial to the lengths some people are willing to go to in order to fulfill their dark desires. Albert Guay’s attack destroyed many lives and remains etched in memory as a symbol of perfidious humanity. His name will forever be associated with one of the worst crimes ever to haunt the skies of Canada.
