Michael Joel-Hansen
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
The mother of a girl severely burned in an attack at a Saskatoon high school says they had never known “horror” until Sept. 5, 2024.
On a lunch break during the first week of school at Evan Hardy Collegiate, a 14-year-old girl poured flammable liquid from a water bottle on her then 15-year-old daughter and set her on fire using a lighter.
Witnesses saw flames spread from the victim’s face to the rest of her body. Firefighters and paramedics arrived within minutes. A school resource officer was able to arrest the teen shortly after.
The victim, whose name cannot be published under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was hospitalized in Edmonton and treated in a specialized burn unit for approximately three months.
On Thursday in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench, the girl’s mother read her victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing for the offender, now 16, whose identity is also banned from publication.
She pleaded guilty last December to attempted murder and unlawfully causing bodily harm for injuring a teacher who came to the victims’ aid.
In an agreed statement of facts, court previously heard that the summer before the attack, the offender obsessively texted the victim and a friend of the victim, who the offender blamed for breaking up their friendship.
Police reports were filed after the messages became threatening.
In court, the victim’s mother expressed frustration that her daughter was attacked after they had alerted the school and police about the ongoing harassment.
“We did everything we thought we could to keep our daughter safe,” she said.
The attack has left them living in fear about what could happen in day-to-day life.
“It feels like the offender attacked the whole family.”
The girl’s mother then read a statement from her daughter, who resumed her education at a different school after the attack. She is still having surgeries to help repair damage to one of her ears.
“I am still alive,” she said, reading her daughter’s words.
The victim wrote that she no longer enjoys going to large events like the Exhibition, and has been forced to rethink her future careers plans.
Her grandmother told court that the family has experienced financial strain from travelling to get treatment, while her aunt said their once-close family doesn’t get together nearly as often since the attack.
She described watching her sister and brother-in-law crumble as their daughter was transferred to Edmonton to be treated.
“That day shook me to the core,” she said.
During their investigation, officers found a journal in the offender’s locker in which she wrote that the victim “was going to die today.” She told police she had thought about setting other students on fire, too.
When she was arrested, the teen was wrapped in a blanket, swaying back and forth saying voices told her to do it. Court heard she was previously suspended from school for starting a fire, and had received psychiatric care in the summer of 2024.
Sentencing decision adjourned
Justice Krisa Zerr reserved her sentencing decision until March 16. She said she wanted more time to consider the legislation while weighing the victim impact statements.
The Crown and defence jointly proposed a three-year youth sentence for the attempted murder charge, followed by a concurrent 12-month term for injuring the teacher. Lawyers requested that the teen receive no credit for the time she has served in custody.
Two years would be served in custody while one year would be served under supervision in the community.
The sentence would be part of the Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) program, a youth sentencing option reserved for young people with established mental health issues who commit violent crimes.
Crown prosecutor Zachary Huywan said the girl has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and pyromania disorder. Reports found she is not a “high functioning individual,” court heard.
Given her personal circumstances and lack of a prior criminal record, sentencing her as a youth rather than an adult is appropriate, court heard.
The offender offered an apology in court, saying “I know sorry is not enough.”
Legal aid lawyer Fola Adelugba said her client is remorseful and “understands the gravity of what’s occurred.”
She described the proposed sentence as “lengthy” and “consequential,” allowing the offender to access supports and programming that she wasn’t getting before being arrested.
