By François Bellemare
Nestled in the heart of the Lesser Antilles, with only 75,000 inhabitants, Dominica (not to be confused with the Dominican Republic) is one of the smallest countries in the Americas. In the southern part of this island nation, the village of Soufrière welcomed a Quebec couple with a cruel destiny: Dominique Marchand and Daniel Langlois, killed in December 2023. It’s a tragedy that has left no one indifferent in this little island society.
Co-director of the avant-garde animated film Tony De Peltrie in 1985 and founder the very next year of the Softimage company that made him a millionaire, in 1997 Langlois established the Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science, and Technology. He financed several environmental and humanitarian projects on Dominica. These programs’ traces are still very visible: reconstruction of a primary school in 2017; protection of the coral reefs in Soufrière Bay; construction of a new dock in the neighboring village of Scott’s Head.
Buildings
But it was the construction of the Coulibri Ridge hotel resort, perched on cliffs, that is most impressive. Simon Walsh, an Australian who runs a local business, enumerates its benefits: a visionary design; constructed with recycled materials and local stone; the collection of rainwater; wind power; and a pool without chemical additives (so that birds can drink out of it). The buildings are designed to resist the vagaries of climate and of time.
“Daniel didn’t just talk about sustainable development,” Walsh says in an interview. “He applied it to every construction detail: foundations, walls, roofs, bathrooms, sewers, everything! He would text me at midnight to suggest an idea for non-polluting laundry, or a model of stainless bolts. A lot of people talk about the famous concept of sustainable development. He lived and breathed it.”
A Man with a Heart
The devastation wrought by hurricane Maria in 2017, which left the region without electricity for a full year, evoked even stronger memories from Walsh: “In one hour, my own home was destroyed; I lived in a tent for long months! Like 90% of the houses, the school saw its roof ripped away by 250 km/hr winds, and the walls were severely damaged. The Langlois Foundation not only paid the whole cost of rebuilding the school, following a sustainable development design, they also managed to maintain its status as a public school. At the inauguration ceremony, the builders simply handed over the keys to the new building.”
Everywhere else on the seafront there are abundant testimonies, as complimentary about the sincere commitment of the Marchand-Langlois couple as they are heartbreaking about their atrocious end. Everybody knew them here: ex-employees of Coulibri Ridge; fishermen who obtained better facilities; or ecotourism outfits worried about the degradation of the seabed.
Vivian Winston, who runs diving expeditions, is full of superlatives: “Daniel even financed small businesspersons’ boutiques. He wanted to help with the environment (Ex: protection of the coral, those who were sick. But he also wanted to help ordinary people.”
He incarnated a long-term vision, says Simon Walsh. “Through the REZDM organization (for Resilience Dominica), founded on the ruins of hurricane Maria, Daniel conceived of the new dock as much for the local fishermen as an emergency measure after a natural disaster that destroyed the way to the sea. Another example: the new school includes a big modern kitchen combining three functions: a daily meal for the children; cooking courses; and an emergency resource for feeding eventual disaster victims.”
A bit further away from the boutiques, Frankie Packett worked in maintenance at the Coulibri Ridge resort for a long time. “Daniel and Dominique?” he says. “Exceptional people. All the residents knew them.” He lowers his voice to add: “And the worst thing is, everyone also knew their killers.”
Despite the drama, the residents of Soufrière talk about staying in contact with members of the murdered couple’s family in order to maintain their visionary legacy. All our interviews ended on a hopeful note. Like the principles of sustainable development themselves, the Daniel Langois Foundation’s projects will be perpetuated through time, we heard over and over again. And what’s more, they will feed the long-term vision of their founder – to reform the world to make it more respectful of th environment, as well as human communities.
Contacted at the Daniel Langlois Foundation in Montreal, Ludovic Carpentier confirms that consultations have been underway since the beginning of 2024 to ensure that operations continue despite the demise of the founder. Asked if a member of the Langlois family will take over, Carpentier says that he deceased’s brother has made himself available, without confirming anything for the moment.
Why Kill?
The main suspect is Jonathan Lehrer, an American, the owner of Bois Cotlette in Soufrière, an establishment next to Coulibri Ridge.
A conflict between Lehrer and Langlois over the use of the Morne Rouge Road, which passes through the Bois Cotlette property, had gone on for years. Lehrer claimed that it was a private road and that those associated with Coulibri Ridge had no right to have access to it; Langlois relied on a Dominican court decision maintaining that it is a public road.
Initially a simple land dispute, the case degenerated into a serious personal conflict between the two men, several people interviewed in Soufrière confirmed to us on condition of anonymity.
Jonathan Lehrer is alleged to have hired the hitman Robert Snyder, also an American, to eliminate Daniel Langlois. A partner is his operations, his wife Dominique Marchand was also assassinated in the same ambush.
Overwhelmed by the suddenly tarnished image of this peaceful micro-country, government officials refuse to comment on the case now that it has been transferred to the courts. And they insist on the presumption of innocence of the accused.
Photo: The off-grid, luxury Coulibri Ridge resort, Dominica. Photo courtesy Coulibri Ridge.
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