The Ottawa Police Service has identified Gilles Comtois, 58, as the victim of Ottawa’s
fourth homicide of the year
.
Comtois was
stabbed
on Feb. 19 on Rideau Street near the intersection with Colonel By Drive, Ottawa police said. Emergency crews found him with life-threatening injuries and transported him to hospital, where he died that evening.
On Feb. 20, police announced 70-year-old Yves Brisebois had been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the homicide.
Comtois was known to many members of
Ottawa’s vulnerable community
in the Rideau Street area, who said he was known to use a wheelchair in the winter and a walker in the summer.
“He’s a good friend of mine … He was a friendly person, very straight up, and would give you the shirt off his back,” said Courtenay Rose, who knew Comtois for more than 25 years.
Comtois and Brisebois were known to each other, according to Comtois’ friends and acquaintances, who told the Ottawa Citizen that Brisebois had been approaching Comtois for about a week prior to the stabbing.
This also wasn’t the first time Comtois had been stabbed, his friends added. Around three months ago, they said, he was stabbed in the upper body following a dispute with teens after he refused to give them cigarettes.
Anyone with information about this or any other homicide was asked to contact the Ottawa Police Service Homicide Unit at 613-236-1222 ext. 5493. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or online at crimestoppers.ca.
Previous homicides in Ottawa this year included the shooting death of
Majed Al-Ar
, 19, on Feb. 11 and the stabbing deaths of
Andrew Dawson-Swan
, 37, and
Shawn Challis-Eatough
, 28, on Feb. 6 and Jan. 28, respectively.
A total of six individuals were charge with either manslaughter or second-degree murder in those cases.
There were 19 homicides reported in Ottawa in 2025.
