MONTREAL — The three Drummondville children allegedly killed by their mother, Sonia Blanchette, died from drowning and strangulation, according to a coroner’s report.
The two younger children, Anaïs, 2, and Loïc, 4, died from drowning while the older child, Laurélie, 5, died from a combination of drowning and strangulation.
The two younger children had abrasions at the tips of their noses. Laurélie had marks on her neck.
The coroner’s report also showed that the children were not drugged at the time of their deaths, as the toxicology report came back negative.
The children were found dead on December 2, 2012, in the duplex where Blanchette lived.
She was separated from their father, Patrick Desautels, and was in the midst of a bitter custody battle that had dragged on for a year.
When they were found dead, the children were at her apartment for their bimonthly four-hour supervised visit. The children’s maternal grandmother was supposed to be there at the time.
The Drummondville police investigation was transferred to the Sûréte du Québec major crimes division, as the deaths were considered homicides.
The bodies of the children were brought to the Laboratoire des sciences judiciaries et de médecine légale de Montreal for the autopsy, signed by coroner Yvon Garneau.
Blanchette stands accused of premeditated triple murder and will next be in court June 21 in Drummondville.
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