Montreal Woman Killed During Work Video Call: What We Know About the Case
A 45-year-old Tunisian woman and Canada Revenue Agency employee was killed inside her Montreal apartment while participating in a work-related video meeting. Police are investigating the city's 19th homicide of 2026.
A Tunisian Woman Killed in Montreal
A routine workday in downtown Montreal turned into a devastating tragedy on Tuesday, September 22, when Leïla Ben Salem, a 45-year-old Tunisian woman living in Montreal, was fatally attacked inside her apartment while taking part in a work-related video call.
Ben Salem worked for the Canada Revenue Agency and was a member of the Union of Taxation Employees' Montreal Local 10008.
Her death has drawn attention across Montreal and Tunisia, prompting tributes from colleagues, political leaders, members of the Tunisian community and others who knew her.
At the same time, Montreal police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.
Several important questions remain unanswered, including the motive for the killing and the exact relationship, if any, between the victim and a person of interest who was questioned by investigators.
A Tunisian Woman Building a Life in Montreal
Ben Salem was born in Tunisia and had reportedly left the country in January 2013 before settling in Canada.
She was 45 years old and had built a professional and family life in Montreal. She was also the mother of a 12-year-old boy.
Her death has therefore resonated beyond Montreal, particularly within Tunisia, where news of the killing was reported by several Tunisian media outlets.
According to reports, members of her family were in Tunisia when they learned of the tragedy.
For those who knew her, the circumstances of her death have added another layer of shock: she was apparently carrying out an ordinary professional task from her own home when the fatal attack occurred.
A Disturbing Scene Inside a Downtown Apartment
Montreal police were called to a residential building on René-Lévesque Boulevard East, near Saint-Christophe Street, at approximately 3:25 p.m. on September 22.
The initial call was reportedly made as a request for a welfare check after a colleague became concerned about Ben Salem during a virtual work meeting.
When officers arrived at the apartment in Montreal's Ville-Marie borough, they found the woman seriously injured and unresponsive.
Emergency responders attempted to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police initially treated the death as suspicious before transferring the investigation to their homicide unit.
The case was subsequently identified as Montreal's 19th homicide of 2026.
Investigators remained at the building while examining the scene, gathering evidence and reviewing available surveillance footage.
Police have not publicly released a complete account of what happened inside the apartment.
The Video Call That Raised the Alarm
One of the most unusual aspects of the case is that Ben Salem was reportedly participating in a work-related video meeting when she was attacked.
According to reports citing police information, she was taking part in a Zoom call with a colleague.
The colleague subsequently contacted emergency services and requested a welfare check after becoming concerned about what was happening.
That sequence of events meant that someone outside the apartment became aware that something was wrong relatively quickly.
It also makes the case particularly disturbing: what began as an ordinary professional interaction apparently became the last known moment of Ben Salem's life.
The precise circumstances surrounding the attack, however, remain the subject of the police investigation.
Police Have Spoken With a Person of Interest
Investigators have identified and spoken with a person of interest in connection with the case.
However, the distinction between a person of interest and an individual formally accused or charged with a crime is important.
According to reports based on police information, investigators spoke with a man who was subsequently released.
No arrest had been announced in the latest reports, and police had not publicly confirmed the man's relationship with Ben Salem.
The authorities have also not publicly established a motive.
As a result, it would be premature to draw conclusions about who was responsible or why the killing occurred.
Questions About Her Personal Circumstances
Ben Salem had reportedly recently purchased the condominium where she was killed.
Quebec media also reported that she had been separated from her husband for several years and that divorce proceedings were underway.
Those details have naturally raised questions about whether the killing could have been connected to her personal life.
However, the publicly available information does not establish such a connection.
Police have not publicly confirmed that the person of interest was an intimate partner, former partner or family member.
Nor have investigators publicly stated that the killing was connected to the separation or divorce.
Those questions therefore remain part of the broader context of the investigation rather than established facts.
A Mother and a Public Servant
Beyond the circumstances of her death, Ben Salem's killing has deeply affected her family, friends, colleagues and community.
She was a mother to a 12-year-old boy and worked for the Canada Revenue Agency.
The Union of Taxation Employees expressed shock over her death and offered support to her family and colleagues.
Her professional life has also become an important part of the story because she was reportedly carrying out her duties when the fatal incident occurred.
Her death has consequently affected not only those closest to her but also colleagues within Canada's federal public service.
Tributes From Canada's Political Leaders
The killing also prompted reactions from Canada's political leadership.
Prime Minister Mark Carney offered condolences to Ben Salem's family, friends and colleagues and paid tribute to her contribution as a Canada Revenue Agency employee.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also expressed condolences and paid tribute to the murdered public servant.
Their statements did not provide additional information about the investigation, but they reflected the national attention the case had attracted.
A Tragedy That Has Also Reached Tunisia
Because Ben Salem was Tunisian, news of her death quickly resonated in her country of origin.
Tunisian media reported extensively on the killing, particularly because of the unusual circumstances surrounding the case.
Her story has therefore crossed borders: what began as a homicide investigation in Montreal has also become a deeply personal tragedy for a Tunisian family and community.
The fact that she had established her life in Canada while maintaining family connections to Tunisia has made the case particularly poignant for those following it from both countries.
A Broader Conversation About Violence Against Women
The killing has also renewed discussion in Quebec about violence against women.
Women's organizations have referred to the case in the context of femicide and violence against women, while the precise circumstances and motive of Ben Salem's death remain under investigation.
That distinction is important.
A homicide involving a woman does not, by itself, establish that the killing was an intimate-partner homicide or that it should legally or factually be classified as a femicide.
Those determinations depend on the circumstances established by investigators.
Nevertheless, organizations working with women facing violence have used the case to draw attention to the need for accessible support and protection for women who may be at risk.
The Investigation Is Still Open
For investigators, several important questions remain unanswered.
- Who entered Ben Salem's apartment?
- What was the relationship, if any, between the victim and the person of interest?
- Why did the attack occur?
- Was Ben Salem specifically targeted?
- What evidence will ultimately establish the motive?
Police have been examining the crime scene, reviewing surveillance footage and speaking with witnesses as they attempt to reconstruct the events of September 22.
Until that work is complete, some of the most important details remain unknown.
What Is Known — and What Remains Unconfirmed
At this stage, the publicly reported facts can be summarized as follows:
- Leïla Ben Salem was 45 years old and of Tunisian origin.
- She was living in Montreal and worked for the Canada Revenue Agency.
- She was reportedly participating in a work-related video call when the incident occurred.
- A colleague became concerned and contacted emergency services.
- Police found Ben Salem seriously injured inside her apartment.
- She was pronounced dead at the scene.
- Montreal police transferred the investigation to their homicide unit.
- The killing is being counted as Montreal's 19th homicide of 2026.
- Police have spoken with a person of interest.
- That person was released, and no arrest had been announced in the latest reports.
- Police have not publicly established the motive.
- Authorities have not publicly confirmed an intimate-partner connection.
These facts leave considerable room for the investigation to develop.
A Case Waiting for Answers
The death of Leïla Ben Salem has left Montreal and her Tunisian community with a tragedy that remains largely unresolved.
For her family, the central question is likely the simplest and most painful one: why?
For investigators, the challenge is to reconstruct what happened inside the apartment and determine who was responsible.
And for the wider community, the case has once again raised difficult questions about violence against women and the resources available to those who may be at risk.
For now, however, the investigation remains open.
Until police establish the circumstances and, if appropriate, lay charges, the identity of the person responsible and the motive behind the killing remain matters for investigators and the courts to determine.
What is already certain is the human cost.
Leïla Ben Salem, a 45-year-old Tunisian woman who had built her life in Montreal, was killed inside her home while apparently carrying out an ordinary part of her working day. She leaves behind a grieving family, a 12-year-old son, colleagues and a community in both Canada and Tunisia searching for answers.