Accused killer mom a likable co-worker
Before she was accused of killing her three young children, Sonia Blanchette would spend time scouring already-clean ovens at her restaurant job because she told colleagues the extra work helped her forget how much she missed her kids.
Colleagues described her as a doting mother who liked to show off photos of her kids on her cellphone.
She also spoke frequently about them while she worked as a full-time cook at a casual Greek restaurant in the city of Drummondville, Que.
On some occasions, though, Blanchette talked about her troubles. She described not being able to see her children, to whom she only had restricted access due to a custody order.
A portrait is emerging of Blanchette, who is facing three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Anais, 2, Loic, 4, and Lorelie, 5.
Their bodies were found at her home Sunday in Drummondville, about an hour from Montreal.
One of Blanchette’s former colleagues said she had a positive attitude at work — but often spoke about how deeply she missed seeing her children.
“She frequently told me, ‘I can’t wait to see my kids, they’re coming over on Sunday,’” said Jones, a nighttime kitchen supervisor at Cite Grecque.
Jones described her as a tireless worker who was always scrubbing something in the kitchen, even unnecessarily cleaning ovens on consecutive days, when she wasn’t preparing food.
“She would say, ‘It does me good because I don’t think about my children.’” A court decision had limited Blanchette to supervised access every second Sunday.
Blanchette, 33, will undergo a psychiatric assessment to determine if she’s fit to stand trial. Her next court appearance is Dec. 14th.
A funeral for the children is planned for Saturday in the town of Acton Vale.
The restaurant’s owner said Blanchette, whom she hired in January, was a good employee and that she never had any trouble with her.
Restaurant boss Manon Rougeau said she wasn’t aware that Blanchette had been charged with abduction in violation of the custody order.
Quebec provincial police had been called to investigate when the mother allegedly took off with her then-14-month-old daughter after losing a custody battle.