By Canadian Press

Quebec appeals court orders new trial for woman accused of killing daughters

Mar 21, 2022 | 3:51 PM

MONTREAL — The Court of Appeal has ordered a third trial for a Quebec woman who has twice been convicted of killing her daughters.

Adèle Sorella had appealed a 2019 conviction by a jury on two counts of second-degree murder for which she was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for 10 years.

In 2013, she was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of her daughters, but that ruling was overturned on appeal in 2017.

In a ruling today, the high court overturned the most recent verdict because of the trial judge’s refusal to accept an argument that organized crime could have played a part in the deaths.

The two girls, nine-year-old Amanda and eight-year-old Sabrina, were found dead in their playroom on March 31, 2009. Their bodies bore no signs of violence and the cause of their death has never been determined.

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Her husband and the girls’ father was Giuseppe De Vito, a man with ties to organized crime who died in prison in 2013 after being poisoned.

Sorella had been granted bail in July 2020 while awaiting the outcome of her appeal. 

A new trial, this time for second-degree murder, would be a third for Sorella, who has pleaded not guilty due to a mental disorder.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2022.

The Canadian Press