Woman charged in 3 children's slayings

CHICOUTIMI, Quebec, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A hospitalized Quebec woman has been charged with killing her three children on New Year's Day and aiding her husband's suicide as part of a pact.

Cathy Gauthier-Lachance, 34, was charged in Chicoutimi, where she is recovering from a large gash to her arm in what police allege was a murder-suicide pact that killed her 46-year-old husband, Marc Laliberte and three children, 4, 7 and 12.

Bankruptcy trustee Jeannot Fillion told the Globe and Mail he handled the couple's personal bankruptcy filings in the fall, and they were in deep financial trouble. Both were unemployed.

There were no visible signs of trauma on the children's bodies. Autopsies began in Montreal Monday and were to continue Tuesday, CTV News reported.

The accused woman's lawyer, Dominic Bouchard, said he will enter a plea of innocent to all charges and seek bail for the woman when she makes her first appearance in Quebec Superior Court next week.