Point Edward woman likely getting house arrest, huge bill for $150K blaze

A Point Edward woman is likely getting house arrest and a hefty bill for intentionally starting a fire that caused $150,000 in damage to a Lambton County-run apartment complex that displaced nine families.

Anne Epstein, 66, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a reduced charge of arson in the May 8, 2021, blaze at Huronview Apartments, a cluster of 10, one-bedroom units on Fort Street in Point Edward that was fully occupied at the time. The court previously heard Epstein used an accelerant to intentionally start a fire in the corner of her living room around 2 pm that Saturday.

Then she left. Point Edward firefighters responded to the scene and found her unit engulfed in flames. They were able to contain and extinguish the blaze, but the destruction was done, with officials pegging the damage at about $150,000.

It was a pretty accurate estimate based on the final restitution bill shown to a judge Tuesday in a Sarnia courtroom during Epstein’s sentencing hearing: $144,965.22. That figure, based on insurance claims, plus one year of house arrest, another year with a curfew, and at least one more year of probation were the main parts of the penalty lawyers on both sides recommended to the judge.

The final decision will be up to Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski, although there is a high bar for judges in Canada to reject joint submissions based on a 2016 Supreme Court decision. Leszczynski adjourned the case until August in part to decide what due date to add to the six-figure restitution order, although defense lawyer Joseph Stoesser said it’s unlikely his client will ever be able to pay it off.

In the meantime, he also went into further detail about his client’s mental health struggles and how they contributed to the fire she set two years ago.

“She wasn’t thinking clearly,” he said.

But since the incident she’s seen a psychiatrist, has started taking her medication again, and is involved in various community groups, Stoesser said.

“Ms. Epstein is a totally different person to the person that acted in the way that she did when she lit that fire,” he said.

She’s also very remorseful and understands it could have been much worse, her lawyer added.

“She is lucky as she is standing before the court that only the property was damaged and no life was lost,” assistant Crown attorney Mikesh Mistry said.

Mistry read four victim impact statements written by residents from Huronview Apartments, one of 16 apartment buildings managed by Lambton County’s housing services department. One woman who lived on the other side of Epstein’s unit at the time wrote she still cries every time she talks about the incident.

“She could have killed everyone here and their pets,” the woman’s letter said.

Two men wrote they struggled sleeping for months afterwards and have developed fears tied to the smell of smoke and the sound of smoke alarms.

Epstein was initially charged with arson, disregard for human life following an investigation by provincial police and the Ontario Fire Marshal, but she pleaded guilty instead to the lesser included offense of arson, damage to property. Before the case was adjourned for the judge to give her final decision, Epstein was asked if she wanted to say anything.

“No, your honor,” she replied.

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@ObserverTerry