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A joint submission requesting a three-year sentence has been made by Crown and defence lawyers in the case of a 16-year-old girl who pleaded guilty to attempted murder after lighting a fellow student on fire.
The Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench judge in the case, Krista Zerr, is expected to deliver her sentence on March 16.
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The joint submission asked for the maximum punishment of three years for the attacker: two years in custody and one in the community with no credit for time served. Three years is the maximum sentence for attempted murder under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Sentencing submissions were heard during a hearing on Thursday for the incident which happened in September of 2024.
In December, the teen also pleaded guilty to unlawfully causing bodily harm to a teacher who tried to help the victim during the attack at Evan Hardy Collegiate.
In the victim’s impact statement to the court on Thursday, she detailed how her burns – injuries from the attack – have changed the way she looks and sounds. She told the court that she is now anxious in crowds and described intense pain while in hospital, her struggles moving to a new school after the attack and having to rethink her future career plans.
At the time of the incident, the attacker was 14 years old and the victim was 15. Neither the victim nor the perpetrator can be named due to provisions the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
According to an agreed statement of facts read in court in December 2025, the two girls had once been friends but the victim ended the relationship after the attacker lit the roof of the school library on fire.
Details heard in court revealed the victim had been harassed to the point of obsession after ending the friendship, and her parents had previously contacted the police.
The court also heard the attacker had engaged in self harm and attempted suicide in the months before the incident. Additionally, she was under constant supervision while she attended the school due to the police report.
On Sept. 5, 2024, two aides were beside the attacker as she paced outside of the victim’s classroom.
When the bell rang, the aides stood between the attacker and victim, but despite their efforts the attacker forced her way past them, doused the victim with a flammable liquid and set her on fire.
The severely injured victim was taken to a hospital in Edmonton to recover.
After the incident, a knife and binder with entries detailing her bitterness towards the victim were found in the attacker’s locker, court heard.
A judge-alone trial was set for May, and the Crown originally intended to seek an adult sentence on the charges. Furlonger said the trial is no longer needed following the guilty pleas.
Saskatoon Public Schools reports student safety improvements
In the wake of the attack, Saskatoon Public Schools said it had identified areas of improvement in its risk-assessment protocols, as well as its discipline procedures and responses to traumatic events.
A statement from the school division said it remains “committed to supporting those affected and to strengthening the safety and well-being of all students and staff, while respecting the privacy of the victims.
“While we will continue to be transparent about this event and the lessons learned, we are mindful that – each time the incident is revisited publicly – it can reopen wounds for members of our community. The effects of this incident are ongoing for many individuals.”
Sean Hayes, the teacher who was injured while intervening to help the victim, has since moved on to a new position at Tommy Douglas Collegiate.
Victim’s statement read in court
“I’m alive,” the victim said in her impact statement, read aloud by her parents in the courtroom.
The victim described in her statement how she is now left-handed and looks and sounds different than she used to. Burns from the attack covered about 40 per cent of her body, requiring skin grafts, according to the victim’s parents.
Two of the victim’s fingers were nearly amputated and her damaged ear will require surgical reconstruction.
“I am more afraid of large crowds. Before, I used to enjoy going to the (exhibition) and going on rides, but now, don’t want to be around people, especially strangers.”
The victim said she endured significant pain while in the hospital and was uncomfortable all of the time. She described the difficulties of transferring to a new school and meeting new people in new surroundings since the attack.
“It’s all very overwhelming, but getting back into a routine again is nice,” the statement read.
The victim also said she has had to change her career plans following the incident.
Mother of victim speaks after hearing
The mother of the victim, who cannot be named because of a publication ban on the victim’s identity, said there are “many little things that are not quite right with this whole catastrophe,” speaking to reporters outside court on Thursday afternoon.
She listed unwanted text messages, impersonating social (media) pages, inaction from the authorities and a lack of action from other powers “that had all the knowledge and didn’t use it,” as difficulties her family has had to endure since her daughter was attacked.
“Our daughter, she’s f—ing amazing,” the mother said. “She has a life now that is flexible and worthy and positive. Our little girl is inspirational. She has a strong and positive effect on so many people, even people she doesn’t know personally.
She said her daughter’s spirit was “challenged but never broken,” despite how her life was altered so suddenly.
“She has been forced to live in her new reality and has accepted her new challenges. Our daughter will always wear the evidence of these crimes,” her mother said.
Saying her daughter has “spunk,” the mother said their family is relieved to see the end in sight for court proceedings on this matter so they can turn their attention to healing.
“Maybe we’ll have better sleeps. We’ll be seen as will be seen as who we are, instead of family of the victim,” she said.
The mother called the teacher who put out the fire that engulfed her daughter a “hero,” and expressed hope that an event like this never happens again and that children can feel safe at school, “their home away from home.
“There should be no fear from people. There should be comfort by their peers,” the mother continued. “They should be able to trust the adults who work there. That trust betrayed our daughter, the systems are broken, and this is only one example of how our school failed us.”
–with files from The Canadian Press
