(WatchDogReport.org) – An American chocolate mogul was arrested recently, following the homicides of a Canadian animator and his wife, who were found by authorities inside a burned-out car in Dominica. Chocolate company Bois Collette’s operator and owner Jonathan Lehrer was charged with murder in connection to the death of Daniel Langlois and his wife Dominique Marchand.
Dominican authorities said they discovered the two bodies after the couple were reported missing. Langlois and Marchand, who managed Dominica’s Colibri Ridge resort, were in a dispute with Lehrer over the use of a road that ran through one of his properties on the Caribbean island. Local police said that the couple were ambushed and shot to death inside their car, which fell into a ravine and eventually caught fire.
During an interview with the Canadian newspaper Le Journal de Montreal, Lehrer’s father claimed that he couldn’t believe the accusations against his son as he said he has never been a “violent man.” He also said he’s having a “hard time believing” that his son played any role in the couple’s killing.
Langlois became a famous entrepreneur in Hollywood after founding the company Softimage back in 1986. The company produced innovative 3D animation software that was eventually used to create some of the most famous movies in the 1990s. These included Bruce Willis’ The Fifth Element, Keanu Reeves’ The Matrix, James Cameron’s Titanic, and even Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.
On its Twitter account, Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said that Langlois was a “visionary” in terms of cinema and “digital technologies.” He added that his work allowed the creation of many Hollywood hits and that his legacy will always reflect his “innovative spirit.”
In a statement, the Daniel Langlois Foundation highlighted the numerous contributions that the Canadian businessman and his wife made to Dominica and its people. The foundation, which is a private charity that was created in 1997, added that Langlois had a “visionary leadership” that led to the “global success” of his animation program.
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