Laval mother faces 2 murder charges in young girls' deaths

The mother of two young girls found dead in their Montreal-area home Tuesday afternoon has been ordered to undergo psychiatric tests and return to court in a month.

Adle Sorella, 43, appeared in a Laval, Que., court Thursday afternoon and now faces twocounts of first-degree murder.

The bodies of Sorella's daughters, Sabrina,8, and Amanda, 9, were found in the family's home in Laval, a community northwest of Montreal. Police said there was no sign of violence in the house.

Sorella was picked up by police early Wednesday morning after she crashed her car into a utilitypole not far from the house. She was not injured and was taken to hospital.

Sorella later told police she had fallen asleep behind the wheel.

Police said the girls' father, Giuseppe De Vito, has been missing since a 2006 police roundup of dozens of organized crime suspects. Neighbours said the girls' mother had been suffering from depression.

Autopsies on the two girls are supposed to take place Thursday. But Const. Nathalie Lorrain said that if the girls were poisoned, it could be a few days before toxicology reports confirm what killed them.