Residents of a quiet Quebec town woke up Sunday to the grim news of a family suicide attempt, which claimed the lives of the 46-year old husband and his three children. The 36-year old wife survived the attempt and is confined at the Chicoutimi hospital under policy custody.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police identified the couple as Marc Laliberte and Cathy Gauthier-Lachance. Their children, who died by poisoning or suffocation, were identified as 12-year old Joelle, 7-year old Marc-Ange and 4-year old Louis-Philippe. The couple had knife wounds.

Alain Laliberte, brother of Marc, said he did not notice anything strange in the family's behavior during the holidays to indicate trouble ahead. The family had holiday dinner on Dec. 28 at Normandin, where Laliberte's father lives. They even had a gift exchange for the children. The couple killed themselves and their children on New Year's Day.

The couple resigned from their jobs before Christmas, which led to speculations they were having financial problems. Laliberte had filed for bankruptcy in 2006 when he reported $114,708 in debts versus assets worth $75,802. He used to be the manager of a drug store, but left the job due to bouts of depression. In October 2008 he filed for bankruptcy for the second time with liabilities of $84,350 and assets of $20,301.

The police wanted to interview Cathy, but her doctors advised against it because of her mental state. Police said she will be charged Monday with three counts of first-degree murder.

The only indicators that there was problem inside their residence were piles of garbage on their front yard and back porch.