Woman set on fire by couple awarded $430,000

TRURO, N.S. – A Nova Scotia woman who was doused in gasoline and set on fire in front of her children nine years ago has been awarded almost $430,000 in damages.

Robin Tomah was 34 when she was attacked in August 2001 outside her Millbrook home by Joanne Sylliboy and Vincent Carl Bezanson.

Three of her four children witnessed the attack.

Tomah was knocked down outside her apartment, doused with gasoline and Bezanson held her down while Sylliboy struck a match, lighting her on fire.

Sylliboy and Bezanson pleaded guilty to attempted murder and were each sentenced to 12 years in prison.

In a ruling dated Nov. 30, Judge Douglas MacLellan of Nova Scotia Supreme Court ordered Sylliboy and Bezanson to pay Tomah over $429,000 for damages, lost earnings, future medical costs, disbursements and prejudgment interest.

Bezanson was released from prison in 2009 while Sylliboy was paroled in 2006. No clear motive for the attack ever emerged during the trial or sentencing.

Sylliboy and Bezanson were common-law partners at the time of the attack.

Tomah suffered third-degree burns to her face and neck as well as burns on her chest and arms. Twenty-three per cent of her body was burnt and she spent 10 weeks in the burn unit at a Halifax hospital.

Tomah has undergone 18 surgeries and a number of other painful treatments. The ruling references testimony from Tomah in which she says she continues to suffer the mental and physical effects of the attack, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, difficulty socializing and reoccurring physical pain.

"Currently I would describe my mental and emotional health as poor," she is quoted in the ruling. "At times I become irritable and feel so anxious that I am unable to leave my home, even for medical appointments.

"Certain triggers, such as the smell of gasoline, driving by the apartment I had on Aug. 29, 2001, or a fire shown on television can cause me severe stress, such that I stay in bed for days and feel unable to get up."