MONTREAL—In Laval, the trial of an alleged mob wife accused of killing her two daughters continued Tuesday. Adele Sorella is accused of first degree murder after the bodies of her children were found in April 2009.
The incident in Sorella’s Laval home took place just as the two girls’ father, Giuseppe De Vito, was on the lam from police.
After a week where the trial focused on the discoveries of the young bodies, the grandmother of the children was on the stand with emotional testimony on Tuesday.
Teresa Di Cesari, the mother of the 47-year-old accused, spoke about the day she found Amanda, 9, and Sabrina, 8.
Di Cesari explained that during De Vito’s absence, she moved in with her daughter and granddaughters because she feared for Sorella’s mental state. The grandmother described how she returned home after a short outing to discover that her two grandchildren were dead.
While describing the scene, Di Cesari used few words.
The woman was emotional and began to sob when she was asked to describe what she saw. She called her memory “cloudy.”
However, some contradictions were raised between Di Cesaris’ testimony and what she said at the preliminary inquiry. The grandmother said she didn’t remember anymore.
Her testimony ended on Tuesday just before noon, to be followed by her cross-examination by the defence.
During the trial, the cause of death has never been clarified. What is known is that the two girls were neatly placed in a room in front of a television set. Both had liquid dripping from their mouths.
The prosecution has been curious about a hypobaric chamber installed in the house, allegedly because 8-year-old Sabrina suffered from health issues. The prosecution wanted to know if the chamber had been used or tampered with.
The prosecution is less than halfway through its case, with a number of witnesses yet to testify.
