Mother of slain Laval girls arrested, father fugitive since 2006

Police have arrested a woman after the bodies of her two children were found in the family home on Tuesday. They say thegirls' father has been missing since a 2006 police roundup of dozens of organized crime suspects.

The bodies of the two girls, aged eight and nine, were discovered Tuesday afternoon at their home in the community northwest of Montreal.

Their mother, Adele Sorella, 43,was arrested in connection with the deaths and will undergo psychiatric tests, saida Laval police spokeswoman.

Police told CBC News the girls had been dead for several hours when their bodies were found by relatives.

"We tried to contact the mother," said Laval police Const. Nathalie Lorrain. When they couldn't find her, Lorrain said, police began to actively look for her "as an important witness."

Early Wednesday morning just before 3 a.m. the woman smashed her car into a street light pole not far from her home. She was not injured and was taken to hospital.

On Wednesday, police said the woman was undersedation andinvestigatorsmay not be able tospeak to her untilThursday.

Neighbours said the girls' mother had been suffering from depression.

"It's sad, it's tragic," neighbour Jessica Alessi said. "My mom called me, and I was freaking out."

Mother to undergo psychiatric tests

Lorrain said the mother was taken to hospital because she seemed confused and somewhatincoherent when detectives first met with her.

The police spokeswoman said investigators are trying to determine if the woman intentionally rammed her car into a hydro pole.

She said there was no sign of violence in the house.

Authorities have been seeking the girls' father, Giuseppe De Vito, for some time on a matter unrelated to the deaths of his daughters.

Lorrain said he is not considered a suspect in the homicides.

The father is being sought in connection with a major police operation that targeted mobsters in 2006 and Lorrain said the family hasn't seen him since the warrant was issued.

He's wanted by the RCMP on drug offences as part of Operation Coliseum, a police roundup of 90 people in Ontario and Quebec with suspected ties to organized crime.