Arsonist tells judge she had no idea what she was doing
Sydney Leer confessed to lighting a fire at Cascade Gardens townhouse complex
It seems a fire that destroyed four Penticton homes last year still remains a whodunit in the mind of the confessed arsonist. “I lit a house on fire and left my dog in a burning building. Do you really think that that was a stable situation in the first place? No. I had no idea what I was doing at the time,” Sydney Leer, 18, told a judge Monday at her sentencing hearing in provincial court.
“You tell me who was telling me, who was ordering me to light that house on fire. I would love to know.”
Court heard earlier in the session that Leer, who pleaded guilty to a single count of arson, has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
It’s “a serious mental health disorder, which generally carries a poor prognosis,” according to the psychiatrist’s report, a portion of which was read into the court record by Crown counsel Kurt Froehlich.
“Ms. Leer is noted to have lived an unstable life. She has difficulty making proper decisions. She is known to demonstrate high impulsivity, aggression and borderline psychotic behaviour,” Froehlich continued.
Leer was nonetheless deemed mentally fit to stand trial. However, her sentencing hearing was adjourned Monday following the Crown’s submissions when she asked for new counsel — before her current lawyer even had a chance to address the court on her behalf — and to be provided with information about herself.
“I want to know my birth certificate, where I was born, how old I am and my name,” she said.
Leer appeared by videoconference from Alouette Correctional Centre for Women in Maple Ridge. She’s been in custody since her arrest Oct. 13, 2016, when the home she shared with her mother, along with three attached residences in the Cascade Gardens townhouse complex, went up in flames.
Froehlich said Leer’s mother called 911 that night to report she was worried about her daughter’s “concerning behaviour” following her release earlier that day from the psychiatric ward at Penticton Regional Hospital.
“During the drive home, Ms. Leer had grabbed the steering wheel… and attempted to direct the car into oncoming traffic,” Froehlich said.
Court heard Leer later admitted to police that she set the fire using a candle and book, but was unsure why she did it.
Although no one was hurt in the blaze, insurance companies pegged the cost of damages at $1.2 million, while those displaced by the fire lost pets and personal belongings, and struggled to find new homes in Penticton, said Froehlich.
He suggested a prison sentence in the range of four to five years, citing Leer’s “lack of remorse, (which) evidences the risk she continues to pose to the public.”
Leer is due back in court March 13 to determine if she does indeed want a new lawyer, a decision Judge Greg Koturbash advised her to consider carefully.
“It’s an unusual time to change lawyers,” Koturbash said. “The stakes are quite high.”