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11 months ago
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An American chocolatier accused of killing Canadian animation innovator Daniel Langlois and his partner has been pictured in handcuffs after being charged with murder in the Caribbean.
Jonathan Lehrer, 57, and alleged hitman Robert Snider appeared at the Roseau Magistrate Court in Dominica on Wednesday to face charges for the murders of Langlois, 66, and Dominique Marchand, both from Quebec.
Snyder appeared to have severe burns on his arm and leg, the CBC reported.
The two suspects were not required to enter a plea during their first court appearance and a judge ordered them to stay in custody until the next hearing, set for March 2024.
Langlois and Marchand were 'ambushed' by a hitman who killed them and then set their car on fire, according to police, who believe the entrepreneur was murdered over a road dispute with Lehrer, his neighbor and owner of the chocolate maker estate Bois Collette Inc.
The French-Canadian is known as the founder of Softimage, which created 3D animations software for movies like Jurassic Park, Men in Black and Star Wars.
He and Lehrer, who is originally from New Jersey, had been involved in a dispute over the usage of the Morne Rouge Public Road, which passes through the chocolatier's estate.
Jonathan Lehrer, 57 (right) and alleged hitman Robert Snider (left) appeared at the Roseau Magistrate Court in Dominica on Wednesday
The American businessman is accused of killing his neighbor, Canadian animation innovator Daniel Langlois and his partner Dominique Marchand
Daniel Langlois, left, and Dominique Marchand, right, from Quebec, were found dead inside a charred vehicle near the eco-resort they owned on Dominica
The battle reached the island's state highest court, which ruled in 2019 that the road was public and could be freely used by Langlois' guests.
In court documents from 2019 seen by DailyMail.com, Langlois accused Lehrer of causing interference with the unobstructed and free use of the public road' for at least four years.
On one occasion Lehrer reportedly 'blocked the road by placing boulders across the road, digging a trench across the said road, erecting metal pipes and placing equipment and supplies on the road denying the claimants and their employees access to their property'.
A local report from 2018 says a protest was staged on the road after 'a land owner from Bois Cutlette' blocked it.
Dominica News Online said: 'The residents, most of whom are employees at Petite Coulibri, have been unable to pass safely to get to work, and decided to protest the action of the land owner.'
Speaking to Journal de Montreal (JDM) earlier this week, Lehrer's father Robert dismissed the notion that his son could be responsible for the horrific murders.
'Jonathan is a successful businessman, not a murderer. We are very close, and he is not a violent man at all. I have a hard time believing it,' he said.
Dominica News Online previously reported that police had taken a total of four people in for questioning - Lehrer, his wife, Snider and a Dominican man.
Dominica police said the intense fire in the car made identifying the bodies impossible, and they are relying on 'circumstantial evidence to connect them to the missing couple'.
The Canadian couple opened their eco-resort last year. They had worked on it for 20 years
Dominica local Jacqueline Dupigny told DailyMail.com the Canadian couple was beloved in the island and would be greatly missed.
She said: 'The sweetest foreigners to set foot on this island. They were exemplary stewards of the land around them and to their staff they treated them with so much respect.'
The entrepreneur sold his software company to Microsoft in 1994 for $200 million and went on to found the Daniel Langlois Foundation for the Art, Sciences and Technology.
In 1997, he received a scientific and technical Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The Daniel Langlois Foundation said Mr Langlois' 'stellar career left a profound influence on contemporary cinema'.
Langlois and Marchand played an important role in the community, according to Soufriere village politician Denise Charles-Pemberton, who told a state-owned radio channel: 'These last few days have been incredibly heavy for our constituency.
'To lose two members of our community, who have been at the heart of its development and its sense of spirit and togetherness is something that we have struggled to put into words.
'Daniel and Dominique may be known for their world-renowned eco-resort in the village but to the people of the Soufriere constituency and to me, they were kind, loving and truly community oriented.'
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