An Edmonton soldier has been found guilty on two counts of arson and three counts of attempted murder related to a 2015 fire.
The woman, who cannot be identified under a publication ban to protect the identities of her children, was convicted of setting the blaze at her CFB Edmonton home in an attempt to kill herself and the children following a bitter custody battle.
Justice John Little announced the verdict on Friday, Feb. 24, calling the woman's testimony “entirely contrived” and “riddled with illogical and unreasonable assertions.”
During the trial, the prosecution alleged the woman took her kids on a trip to West Edmonton Mall, wrote a suicide note, then set fire to their home in an attempt to kill them all. In the note, she told the recipient she expected to be “in jail or dead” by the time he read it.
The woman testified she did not intend to kill herself and her children, but instead planned to confront her ex-husband and feared it would become “physical.”
However, Little said he did not believe the woman feared a conflict with her ex-husband and said the evidence “tells me that [the accused] was planning something dangerous, illegal, or both.”
When the note was presented to the court, the accused claimed she had likely written the letter, but noted the handwriting was unusual, which she attributed in part to carbon monoxide poisoning. She testified she was hospitalized after the fire and experienced hallucinations.
Little said he did not find her claims credible, as her vision and health were “good enough to drive” to meet her friend, Robert White, to whom she sent the letter and a large sum of cash.
He also said the accused ignored an opportunity to abandon her plan once the fire had started. Court heard testimony the children alerted the woman to the fire, but instead she told them to go back to bed, saying she would "deal with it later." Little said this was “not a logical response by a person who wants to save her children,” and she had “decided it was better to die with her children than to lose them to their father.”
“Ignoring the initial complaints [was] a means of trying to make sure her ultimate goal was achieved,” he said.
The defence argued there had been inconsistencies in the children's statements about the fire. Little noted the children gave up to three statements and had also inevitably discussed the events between themselves, which accounted for some of the inconsistencies. He also acknowledged the trauma the children had endured, adding they were “torn between warring parents.” He said he accepted the children’s testimony they did not set the fire.
Defence lawyer Curtis Steeves had argued evidence at the scene had been contaminated by firefighters. However, Little said the movement of small items is protocol on fire scenes, and he believed there was no disruption of evidence.
Little also noted the insurance company found the fire started in the middle of a concrete floor, with no evidence to suggest it was accidental.
“The only reasonable conclusion [is the woman] intentionally started the fire knowing the children were there,” Little said.
As for the three counts of attempted murder, Little noted the accused took steps “beyond mere preparation” by setting the fire. The judge said her withdrawal of a significant amount of money, despite previously been known for her money-conscious behaviour, coupled with the letter saying she would either be “in jail or dead,” showed her mindset in the hours prior to the blaze.
The woman is under house arrest until sentencing on March 10.
