Police recapture convicted murderer who escaped prison north of Montreal

MONTREAL — A convicted murderer who escaped from a Quebec prison nearly three weeks earlier was recaptured early Friday in Montreal, Correctional Service Canada said.

They said Lory Bill Germa was apprehended by the Montreal police at around 7:45 a.m.

The 69-year-old escaped from the Archambault Institution north of Montreal on July 5.

Staff at the prison’s minimum-security unit reported him missing after noticing he was absent during an inmate count.

Germa was serving a sentence after a 1992 conviction for first-degree murder.

Ontario Provincial Police issued a news release after the escape saying Germa might be in southwestern Ontario.

Montreal police said Friday in a news release that they had arrested a suspect who matched Germa’s description “in connection with two robberies that occurred on July 19 and 22 in the Ville-Marie borough.”

While they did not name him, they said the suspect was 69 years old and had escaped from prison on July 5.

Police said the suspect appeared at a downtown bank on July 19 and allegedly robbed the branch of $400 after handing an employee a threatening note. He later returned to the branch three days later and allegedly made off with $500, some of it in marked bills, police said.

Police added that the suspect was charged with theft on Friday afternoon and would be returned to Archambault Institution.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.