The "shocking crime" of setting an elderly neighbour's home on fire, as the woman was asleep inside, has resulted in Wangaratta arsonist Lisa Hay being sent to jail for a maximum of three years and nine months.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
It has been just over three years since Hay, 35, started a fire at the back door of Catherine Siegers' Burke Street home in the early hours of September 1, 2017.
The fire destroyed the house, but Ms Siegers was able to escape without serious injury after she was woken by her smoke alarm.
Hay, who had denied setting the fire, was found guilty of arson and reckless conduct endangering life by a jury in February.
She will be eligible for parole after one year and 11 months and has already served 195 days on remand, but showed no emotion on the video link when Judge Damian Murphy handed down the sentence in the County Court on Wednesday.
"You exposed an elderly lady to terrible danger and destroyed her lifetime memories. You are to be utterly condemned," he said.
MORE NEWS FROM COURT:
Mrs Siegers lived alone and had been in her Wangaratta home for 53 years.
Although a new house has been built in Burke Street, following an insurance claim for $495,000 in home and content damage, the physical and emotional damage remain.
Mrs Siegers told the court in her victim impact statement that her "life was turned upside down" when she lost the house.
"It was a place where so many of my friends, family and associates spent so many happy hours of fun and laughter. Every nook and cranny of that home could tell a story and a memory," she said.
The fire destroyed her family photographs and took its toll on her physically and mentally.
"I feel I have been denied a sense of peace and comfort that comes with security and confidence," Mrs Siegers said.
"This has been denied of me as a result of the fire - a fire brought about for no good reason, no fault of mine or the age of my home.
"It was brought about by a senseless act by a person whose cry for help I have heard, but have been unable to assist.
"It saddens me that I have not been able to help her and saddened by the fact I have borne the brunt of this act in such an unnecessary way that has led to my being anxious, panicked and hardened with anger."
Psychological reports found Hay's offending was connected to her high levels of drinking alcohol and her way of coping with an "emotionally volatile upbringing".
She was considered a high risk of reoffending if she continued her alcohol abuse, but expressed a desire to stay sober.
Judge Murphy sentenced Hay as a serious arson offender and said she was fortunate a passer-by saw the Burke Street fire early.
"To set a fire on the back veranda of a timber home in the dead of night, knowing that it was occupied by an elderly woman, is a shocking crime," he said.
"You were reckless to the fact she was an elderly woman, living alone, probably asleep at that time of night and may not have been able to safely escape."
