Michael Joel-Hansen
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
A teenage girl has pleaded guilty to lighting another teen on fire at Saskatoon’s Evan Hardy Collegiate.
In a Saskatoon King’s bench courtroom filled with the victim’s supporters, the girl entered pleas on Monday afternoon to attempted murder and unlawfully causing bodily harm in relation to a teacher.
She cannot be named as per requirements of the Youth Criminal Justice Act because she was 14 years old at the time of the offence. The act also applies to the victim and witnesses who were underage at the time.
On Sept. 5, 2024, she poured gasoline on a then 15-year-old girl in a hallway during the lunch hour, and used a lighter to set her on fire.
A witness reported seeing flames spread from the victim’s face to the rest of her body. Firefighters and paramedics arrived on the scene within minutes.
The girl was arrested by a school resource officer. Court heard during her arrest, she was wrapped in a blanket, swaying back and forth and talking about how voices told her to do it.
She told police she thought about setting other students on fire, too.
Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Crown prosecutor Ainsley Furlonger said the girl brought the gasoline to school in a water bottle. The facts confirmed she had been previously suspended for setting a fire at school.
Court heard the offender and victim originally met the year before, when the offender asked the victim to be her friend. The two eventually exchanged numbers.
In a statement to police, the victim said the offender would text her nearly every day asking her “how she was doing” or “what she was doing.” The victim eventually became annoyed, told the offender she didn’t want to be friends anymore, and asked her to stop messaging her.
The facts state that during the summer before the attack, the offender obsessively texted the victim and one of her friends, who the offender blamed for the end of her friendship with the victim.
The messages were threatening, and the parents of both the victim and her friend filed police reports.
Police found a journal in the offender’s school locker. In it, the girl wrote that she wanted to hurt the victim.
“She’s going to die today,” Furlonger said, reading from the statement.
When officers searched the offender’s phone, they found photos of the victim and her friend.
The victim was seriously injured and had to go to Edmonton to get care in a specialized burn unit. She wasn’t released until just before Christmas 2024.
Evan Hardy teacher Sean Hayes was also burned while trying to help the victim. In her police statement, the victim recalled how Hayes used his shirt to extinguish the flames.
Court heard after the flames were put out, the victim said “I want my mom.”
Shortly after the attack, the Crown announced it intended to seek an adult sentence if the girl were to plead out or be convicted after trial. The maximum youth sentence for the offences is three years, while the maximum adult sentence is life imprisonment.
After pleas were entered on Monday, Furlonger told court the Crown is no longer pursuing an adult sentence. She did not indicate why.
Justice Krista Zerr ordered a pre-sentence report and psychological assessment ahead of the girl’s sentencing hearing, which has been scheduled for Feb. 26.
Outside court, the victim’s aunt read a statement written by the girl’s parents.
“Our daughter is strong in her heart and in her mind. Her spirit, it was never broken, even though her life was changed in an instant. She has been forced to live in her new normal.
“The horror of what has happened will never disappear. Our daughter will always wear the evidence of these crimes.
“We are relieved that these court proceedings are coming to a close so that we can focus on our daughter’s healing as well as our own.
“It is our hope that events like this never happen again, and that children can feel safe no matter where they may be.”
