A portrait of the mother accused of killing her three young children in Quebec

DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. – A portrait is emerging of a Quebec mother accused of killing her three young children.

Sonia Blanchette is being described as someone who talked frequently about her kids and appeared to be a doting mother.

But she also spoke of the pain of not being able to see her kids, to whom she only had restricted access due to a custody order.

A former colleague in a Greek restaurant where she worked as a cook says she frequently showed off photos of her kids on her cellphone.

Daniel Jones says Blanchette had a positive attitude at work — but frequently spoke about how deeply she missed seeing her children.

Blanchette is now facing three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her kids. A funeral for the children — aged two, four and five — is planned for tomorrow.

A court decision had limited Blanchette to supervised access to the kids every second Sunday.

Jones worked alongside Blanchette for about nine months in the kitchen of a Greek restaurant in the city of Drummondville.

He says Blanchette was a pleasant, hard-working cook who laughed a lot at work.

Blanchette will undergo a psychiatric assessment to determine if she’s fit to stand trial.

Her next court appearance is December 14th.