Defence lawyer Dominic Bouchard speaks with reporters outside the Saguenay courthouse. (CBC) A Quebec mother accused of killing all of her children learned from her hospital bed Monday that she had been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

Cathy Gauthier-Lachance was also charged with assisting in her husband's suicide in what police allege was a murder-suicide pact carried out in the family home in Saguenay on New Year's Day.

Doctors would not let Gauthier-Lachance, 36, leave her bed because she is recovering from injuries suffered that night.

The woman held a phone to her ear instead, answering only yes or no to questions from the courtroom a few blocks away. The teleconference lasted three minutes.

Defence lawyer Dominic Bouchard said his client's condition is improving. He said neither the prosecution nor the defence thought it was necessary at this point to ask the court for a psychiatric examination.

'She is well, but she is a little confused'— Dominic Bouchard, defence lawyer

"She is well, but she is a little confused because of the situation and all of the media. She is well and she understands the process," Bouchard told reporters outside court.

Police allege Gauthier-Lachance and her husband, Marc Laliberté, 46, had planned to kill their children and then themselves.

The bodies of Laliberté, Joëlle Laliberté, 12, Marc-Ange Laliberté, 7, and Louis-Philippe Laliberté, 4, were found by investigators early Friday in a bungalow in the Chicoutimi borough of Saguenay, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City.

Autopsies will be conducted on all four bodies this week to determine the causes of death.

Bouchard won't say if the couple left a suicide note. However, he said that documents were found in the house.

Gauthier-Lachance will be back in court Jan. 15 for a preliminary hearing.

Family, friends say couple had financial issues

Police have not publicly speculated on a possible motive for the deaths. However, family members have said the couple was under financial strain.

Laliberté had stopped working as a real estate agent in recent months. Gauthier-Lachance left her job at a women's clothing store just before Christmas.

'The thing she lacked, that I demand as a priority, is a smile.'— Guylène Potvin, former employer

The owner of the store, Guylène Potvin, said she sensed a deep sadness in the woman, a factor that she said ultimately led to Gauthier-Lachance leaving the job after one month.

"She was a woman with allure. She had good qualities to work in my store," said Potvin. "But the thing she lacked, that I demand as a priority, is a smile."

School prepares to help students deal with loss

School board director Yvon Pelletier is preparing for the return of class without the three Laliberté siblings. (CBC)Officials at the Chicoutimi schools the Laliberté children attended were preparing Monday for the return of class without the three children.

Counsellors will be on hand at when students return on Tuesday, said Yvon Pelletier, director of the Commission scolaire des Rives-du-Saguenay.

"In the classes of the children who died, there will be a counsellor in the class to discuss with them what happened and their feelings," said Pelletier. "For all the other students, there will be professionals at the school."

He said he hopes parents discuss what happened with their children before they arrive at school. That way, he said, counsellors can help the pupils deal with their feelings instead of simply breaking the news.

"Students are like adults. They are touched in different ways. They are individuals," said Pelletier.

Suicide experts say Quebec making progress

Experts say suicide rates are on the decline in Quebec.

Brian Mishara, a psychology professor at the University of Quebec at Montreal, said rates are down because resources are more easily available for people who need help.

"Quebec suicide rates in the past 10 years have gone down dramatically, particularly for youth. There was a 50-per-cent decrease in the youth suicide rate," said Mishara, who is also the founder of the suicide prevention organization, Suicide-Action Montreal.

He said people who are about to attempt suicide often express their intention either directly, or indirectly, to others.

"Most people who attempt suicide indicate to others often directly, and sometimes indirectly, that they are in a desperate situation and are thinking of killing themselves," he said.