SAINT-JEROME - The trial of Dr. Guy Turcotte, accused of killing his two young children, will begin in April.
A court date of April 4, 2011 was set Friday at a hearing at the St-Jerome courthouse, meaning the trial will begin over two years after the alleged crime was committed.
Turcotte was found in his home in Piedmont on Feb. 21, 2009 suffering from an apparent overdose. Also found that day were the bodies of his two young children, Olivier, 5, and Anne-Sophie, 3.
Turcotte was arraigned days later on two charges of first-degree murder.
The reason for the long delay in starting the trial is that the Crown has indicated it will need five to six weeks to present its case. The earliest such a long block of time was available at the St-Jerome courthouse was only in April.
Crown prosecutor Claudia Carbonneau told CTV Montreal's Stephane Giroux that the long wait for a trial should not be misconstrued as a lack of importance being placed on the case.
"I think everybody understands this is a (sensitive) case," she said. "It's in everybody's best interest that the case has a finishing touch at a certain point. It has to finish at some point."
The mother of the two slain children, Dr. Isabelle Gaston, was in court on Friday in the hopes of applying a bit of pressure to speed the process along.
The trial is likely to focus on the state of mind of Turcotte at the time of the murders. There will be psychiatrists from both sides giving their opinions on the subject. If Turcotte's lawyer can prove he was mentally ill at the time the killings took place, he could try for an acquittal on the grounds of insanity.
If found guilty Turcotte would face a minimum of 25 years in prison with no possibility of parole.
