An 18-year-old girl has been sentenced to 25 months for lighting a fire in a foster home which killed two people and injured another in Oakwood, Ont., in February 2017.
The sentence will include 19 months custody followed by six months of community supervision.
In a packed Lindsay courtroom on Thursday, the girl — who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act — stared ahead stone faced as family members openly sobbed as victim impact statements were read in front of Justice John Payne prior to the sentencing.
In December 2017, the girl pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson causing bodily harm for the Feb. 24 fire at a foster home owned by Connor Homes on Quaker Road, about 20 kilometres west of Lindsay.
Both staff member Andrea Reid and 14-year-old resident Kassandra Finbow died of smoke inhalation from the raging fire, which broke out around 4:45 p.m.
Court previously heard that firefighters found their unresponsive bodies in a second-floor bedroom and managed to rescue another caregiver.
Kassandra was pronounced dead at hospital that day while Reid, a 43-year-old mother of three, was pronounced brain dead the next day. The other caregiver spent several days in intensive care with lung injuries.
In their joint submission, the Crown and defence had asked for a three-year rehabilitative custody sentence for the teen who was 17 years old at the time of the fire. The Crown stressed the importance of “intensive” rehab for the youth who is from a First Nation community in Northern Ontario.
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Taking into account the youth’s time in custody, the Crown was seeking a 25-month, 21-day sentence — with 19 months, 21 days in custody, followed by six months under community supervision.
However, the defence stated Thurssday it was seeking two months less custody time with a longer community sentence in the youth’s First Nation community – a request that sparked an outburst in the courtroom by family of the victims which led to a short recess.
The 17-year-old had originally been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of arson causing bodily harm.
In the agreed statement of facts, the teen admitted to lighting the fire as part of an emotional outburst when she discovered she would not be able to return home when she turned age 18.
She pushed a staff member and the two caregivers on duty, then fled upstairs, according to the agreed statement of facts.
The teen, diagnosed with schizophrenia and fetal alcohol syndrome, was known for violent outbursts.
The teen then used a lighter to set books, a couch and cardboard on the wall on fire.
A fire quickly spread, filling the house with smoke and trapping Reid and Kassandra in one bedroom. A report by The Toronto Star revealed a glass door in the room was bolted shut. The other caregiver was in a room which had a window that was too small to escape, but firefighters manager to cut their way in through the roof.
In the victim impact statements, family members said that Reid died doing a job she loved but that her death has devastated the family and they’ve become disconnected.
“All the light had been sucked out of our lives,” said Reid’s mother Victoria Fowler of the moment when the fire broke out.
Statements from Kassandra’s family described the teen as full of life, creative, smart and full of passion for her dog.
“This tragedy has touched so many of the people who loved her,” said her brother Kurtis, who says he now suffers panic attacks and has struggled to cope.
Kassandra’s mother’s statement added, “My daughter should not have died this way… no mother should ever have to bury a child.”
The Crown acknowledged the teen’s remorse for her actions, and that it was “incredibly evident” that she had a challenging background, which included abusing alcohol very early in life.
Furthermore, the Crown said the teen is a “high risk” for future violent behaviour, but is responding well to current help for her mental health issues, which have led to extreme aggression toward herself and others. The youth has six previous convictions for violent offences, including assaults and making threats.
The Crown and defence agreed with the need for reintegration into the community but noted there is still plenty of work to be done to ensure the youth does not present a risk to re-offend.
The youth declined when asked if she wished to address the court.
In his sentencing, Justice Payne called the crime a “senseless act” and that the consequences of setting a fire were “reasonably foreseeable.” He said her actions had a “devastating, life-altering and immeasurable impact” on Reid and Kassandra’s families.
He said the sentence will promote a sense of responsibility for the youth, hold her accountable and contribute to rehabilitation.
The youth is also banned from possessing weapons for 10 years and has to provide a DNA sample to police.
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