Police testify at trial for Quebec cardiologist accused of killing his children

ST-JEROME, QC - The second day of the trial for a Quebec cardiologist accused of killing his two children heard emotional testimony from the police officers who found their bodies.

Officers Patrick Bigras and Marc-Antoine Bigué were sent to Dr. Guy Turcotte's Piedmont, Que., home on February 21st, 2009 after his parents called saying they were worried about their son's state of mind.

The officers told the court Tuesday that when they arrived, they heard a loud noise coming from the master bedroom. That's where they found the bodies of five-year-old Olivier, and three-year-old Anne-Sophie. The children had been stabbed to death. The officers testified that Turcotte was hiding under his bed.

Turcotte was arrested and taken to hospital where he was treated for ingesting a quantity of windshield wiper fluid. If convicted, he faces life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Patrick Bigras, one of the officers on the scene that night, left his job for two and a half months after being diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

Turcotte has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. However, in a statement of admission filed by the defence, he says he committed an illegal act and caused the children's deaths.

Turcotte was a doctor at the local hospital in St-Jerome at the time, about 60 kilometers northwest of Montreal, and the case is a high-profile one throughout the Laurentians region.

He had recently separated from his wife, who was away on a ski trip when her children were killed.

Until the trial's end, a jury of seven women and five men are expected to hear testimony from about 30 witnesses, including Turcotte's ex-wife, Isabelle Gaston.

With files from The Canadian Press