Trial hears from fire official

A fire investigator made two important finds in the time following the October 2016 death of 31-yearold Ryan Daniel Sugar.

First, Chance Duperreault found the body, lying on the floor of the back bedroom at 1555 Mctavish St.

Then, he said, he determined the area and point of origin of the fire — respectively, the small hallway between the bathroom and back bedroom, and the doorway of the bathroom itself.

Duperreault testified Wednesday at the first-degree murder trial for 36-year-old Colinda Lee Hotomani and 26-year-old Gregory James Wolfe. The pair is accused of causing Sugar’s death sometime between Oct. 4 and 5, 2016. Court previously heard Sugar died of carbon monoxide poisoning from smoke inhalation.

Duperreault told a Regina Court of Queen’s Bench jury he was first called to the scene on the early morning of Oct. 5.

At that time, he said, there was no information anyone had been inside, and Duperreault noted what was left of the house rendered it largely unsafe to enter.

A few days later, on Oct. 11, Duperreault was back, along with other members of the fire department and the Regina Police Service. He said police had received information someone might have been inside the house, and to check the crawl space.

While searching for a crawl space access, Duperreault peered through the rear bedroom window. Inside, he spotted Sugar’s body.

Due to structural issues, a team had to be called in to stabilize that section of the house, and a hole was cut in the wall to allow police and the coroner access to the body.

Duperreault conducted the bulk of his investigation the following day. The roof was lifted off and much of the debris cleared out, allowing him and a second investigator a better look at fire damage.

Pointing out his observations through scene photographs, Duperreault determined the fire originated in the small hallway. Looking closer at burn patterns and other evidence, Duperreault found the specific point of origin was in the “middle of the bathroom doorway.”

Based on evidence at the scene and witness statements, he said he determined the fire was deliberately set. No evidence of an ignitable liquid could be found, but he said that wasn’t unusual given the amount of time that had passed.

That testimony appeared to support what co-accused Jessica Pangman told the court earlier in the week — that a pillow was set alight in the hallway and a large TV wheeled over to block an injured Sugar inside the bathroom.

Duperreault found the remains of what appeared to be the bottom of a TV in the hallway, he said.

Court also heard from a man who said he ran into Hotomani and Pangman on Oct. 6, 2016.

The man — who cannot be named because of a court-imposed publication ban — told the court Hotomani asked him if he’d watched the news, and then said, “I was the one that set that fire.” He said the two women were “laughing about it.”

He testified he ran into Hotomani at court in February 2017, and that she told him to “watch your back, snitch.”

Under cross-examination by the woman’s defence lawyer Greg Wilson, the witness was told Hotomani was, in fact, in custody in February 2017.

The trial continues Thursday.