Quebec woman can stand trial in deaths of her children, judge rules
Last Updated: Thursday, March 19, 2009 | 9:43 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Related
A judge has ruled there is enough evidence to order a trial for a Quebec woman charged with killing her children and helping her husband commit suicide.
Judge Rosaire Larouche ruled Thursday that all the necessary requirements were met to send Cathie Gauthier to trial.
Gauthier, 35, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children — Joelle, 12, Marc-Ange, 7, and Louis-Philippe, 4.
She also faces one count of helping her husband, Marc Laliberte, 46, commit suicide.
Quebec provincial police have alleged the couple made a murder-suicide pact.
A trial date will be set on April 6.
Another judge granted Gauthier bail Monday under strict conditions, including that she remain under constant supervision in a transition house for women.
Gauthier had previously been held at the hospital where she was taken after she and her family were found on Jan. 2 in a bungalow in the Chicoutimi borough of Saguenay, north of Quebec City. She was suffering from knife wounds; the rest of her family was dead.
When Justice Richard Grenier granted bail this week, he said he was primarily motivated by the presumption of innocence and the fact that Gauthier intends to present a defence.
Share Tools
Latest Montreal News Headlines
- Quebec students ready for tuition hike, says one leader
- The president of Quebec's College Student Federation (FECQ), Leo Bureau-Blouin, tells CBC Radio's The House that students "are ready for a compromise on the amount of a tuition hike," as the Quebec government and the province's student associations prepare to resume talks.
more »
- Tornado touchdown confirmed near Montreal
- Trees were uprooted, roofs damaged and windows shattered as severe thunderstorms, and a tornado rattled through southwestern Quebec Friday night. more »
- Champlain Bridge road work blitz this weekend
- Transport Quebec is advising drivers to avoid the Champlain Bridge corridor this weekend as a blitz of major road work closes down some lanes. more »
- IOC's Jacques Rogge encourages Olympic bids for Quebec City, Toronto
- International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge believes there is an opportunity for either Quebec City or Toronto to host a future Olympic Games. more »
- Casserole pan-demonium in Quebec
- Residents take to the streets with pots and pans to protest Bill 78. more »
Top News Headlines
- Everest team unable to bring down Toronto woman's body
- Bad weather has hampered the recovery team that is attempting to bring down the body of a Toronto woman who died trying to climb Mt. Everest. more »
- 32 Syrian children die in artillery attack, says UN
- More than 90 people have been killed by regime forces in a district of central Syria, with the head of the UN team in the country confirming more than 32 children and 60 adults were killed the attack. more »
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges

- The estranged partner of a young mother who was stabbed to death along with her parents at their home in Aylmer, Que., has been charged with first-degree murder Friday. more »
- The risks and responsibilities of taking on Mt. Everest

- The deaths of six climbers last weekend on Mt. Everest, with more summits underway this weekend, fuels the debate about the risks and responsibilities of high altitude climbing. more »
Most Viewed/Commented
- Tornado touchdown confirmed near Montreal
- 32nd night protest in Montreal
- Quebec students challenge Bill 78 in court
- Mysterious photos may shed light on 2004 Quebec homicide
- Quebec faces mounting pressure amid student crisis
- Ottawa man in hospital after lightning strike
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges
- Son testifies on behalf of father accused of killing wife
- Bookies set odds on Quebec student protest

