Prelim hearing set, accused in Evan Hardy assault pleads not guilty

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A teenage girl accused of attempted murder in a brutal assault at Evan Hardy Collegiate is set to return to Saskatoon court this summer after pleading not guilty to multiple charges.

The teenager appeared briefly in Saskatoon provincial court on Friday, pleading not guilty and electing for a trial by judge alone at Court of King’s Bench. The accused — 14 years old at the time, but now 15 — is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm and arson in connection with the incident on Sept. 5, 2024.

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Four days have been set aside in July for a preliminary hearing.

The assault at Evan Hardy captured national and international attention.

According to witnesses and later the Crown when charges were laid, over the noon hour that day — during the first week of classes after students had returned following summer break — a girl poured flammable liquid from a canister onto another girl’s head and lit it. Flames spread from the victim’s hair and face to her shoulders, back and stomach within seconds.

Witnesses described teachers using clothing to snuff out the flames. A police school resource officer who happened to be at the school responded to the area and arrested the suspected girl. Firefighters and paramedics arrived within minutes.

The injured 15-year-old girl was transferred to an Edmonton hospital for care as part of a long recovery process. A teacher who was burned while helping her was released from hospital a few days after the incident.

The identities of the accused and youth victim are banned from publication under statutory provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

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The Crown has given notice that it will seek an adult sentence for the accused teen. The maximum youth sentence for attempted murder is three years; the maximum adult sentence is life imprisonment.

In September, a not criminally responsible (NCR) assessment was ordered. Court heard that the accused had said during her arrest and while giving a subsequent police statement that “voices told her to do things.”

Court has also heard the girl had received prior psychiatric care during emergency room visits in the summer. She also had a prior autism diagnosis and was under the care of a nurse practitioner who had diagnosed her with a psychotic disorder.

Two months after the incident at Evan Hardy, institutional charges of uttering threats and assaulting a peace officer while in custody on Nov. 8 were laid against the teen.

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