Crown files direct indictment against teen accused of setting classmate on fire

A Saskatoon teen accused of lighting a classmate on fire will be going directly to trial.

The Crown filed a direct indictment against the 15-year-old girl on Thursday in Saskatoon Court of King's Bench, meaning there won't be any preliminary hearings where evidence can be tested.

The indictment contains two charges: that the teen attempted to murder a classmate at Evan Hardy Collegiate by setting her on fire and that she caused bodily harm to the teacher who was injured when he tried to put out the fire.

The incident happened on the first day of school, Sept. 5, 2024. The accused and the teenaged victim cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The case had been set for a four-day preliminary hearing in July, but the direct indictment — which required the approval of the provincial attorney general — means that hearing is waived.

The Crown previously gave notice in provincial court that it intends to seek an adult sentence for the teen, if she is convicted.

The victim, also 15, sustained burns to 40 per cent of her body after the accused allegedly poured a flammable liquid on her head and torso and lit her on fire in a hallway outside a classroom, just before lunch.

WATCH | Teen girl lit on fire at high school tells her story: 

Teen girl lit on fire at high school tells her story for first time

2 months ago

Duration 3:40

Last year, a 15-year-old was severely burned at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon in an alleged attack by another student. Now, she is telling the story in her words. Warning: This story contains distressing details.

The parents of the burned teen told CBC they went to police and the school multiple times in the summer before school started, with concerns about escalating online threats from the student who is now accused.

The parents said they were assured a plan would be put in place.

Both Saskatoon Public Schools and the police declined interviews while the case is before the courts.

The accused teen was in and out of psychiatric care during the summer leading up to the alleged attack, and told police "voices told her to do things," court heard last September.

The teen pleaded not guilty to the original charges in provincial youth court, but now that the direct indictment is at Court of King's Bench, she will enter her pleas to those charges when the trial begins.

Dates for the trial have not been set.