Lulonda Flett

Parties

• Lulonda Flett (accused; sentenced to five life sentences)
• Evelyn Laforte (mother of victim Robert Curtis Laforte)
• Darren Sawchuk (lawyer for Lulonda Flett)
• Justice Brenda Keyser (judge)
• Lynette Harper (sister-in-law of Lulonda Flett; escaped unharmed)
• Marie Flett (another resident who escaped unharmed)
• Lyle Duhaime (resident who lived in the rooming house before and after the blaze)
• Chris D'Souza (neighbour; quoted)
• Reid Douglas (Winnipeg’s deputy fire chief; quoted)
• Todd Calback (friend of a person in the house; quoted)
• Nicole (witness; declined to provide her last name; quoted)
• Dr. Kent Somers (psychologist referenced in sentencing-related discussion)

Timeline

• July 16, 2011 — A fire broke out at 288 Austin St. N. in Winnipeg; four people died and two others were taken in critical condition.
• July 17, 2011 — Police announced that Lulonda Lynn Flett was charged; a witness reported seeing someone using something flammable to light the blaze early Saturday morning.
• July 18, 2011 — A fifth person died after being in critical condition: Robert Curtis Laforte, 56.
• October 22, 2012 — Lulonda Flett pleaded guilty to five counts of manslaughter and one count of arson.
• June 12, 2013 — Justice Brenda Keyser sentenced Lulonda Flett to five life sentences to be served concurrently; eligibility for parole was set for five years.
• May 4, 2013 — A blog post quoted Lulonda Flett and Dr. Kent Somers in connection with her background and sentencing considerations.

Background

Lulonda Flett was convicted in connection with the torcing of a Winnipeg rooming house at 288 Austin St. N. in the Point Douglas neighbourhood that killed five people in July 2011. The house was often associated with late-night partying and drugs.

Lulonda Flett was originally from a remote First Nation. She had a history that included substance use and cognitive challenges and difficulties in life that were considered at sentencing.

A Gladue report was to be prepared as a pre-sentence assessment for aboriginal offenders before the March date referenced in the sentencing process discussion. Gladue reports were based on a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that judges should take an aboriginal offender’s background into account for sentencing.

The offence

The fire started at 288 Austin St. N., a 2½-storey home with 13 rooms, in the early morning hours of July 16, 2011. Fire officials said the blaze likely started near the front entrance, possibly on the veranda, blocking an obvious escape route. The front of the structure was engulfed when firefighters arrived.

At the time of the fire, there were eight people in the home. Fire officials believed people were also using basement space for sleeping. Five people died in the blaze. The other three people escaped unharmed, including Lulonda Flett’s sister-in-law Lynette Harper and Marie Flett.

Investigation

Winnipeg police and fire officials treated the fire as suspicious initially and conducted investigations through the city’s arson strike force and the police homicide unit.

A witness saw someone using something flammable to light the blaze early Saturday morning.

Fire officials reported that the house had been the subject of a fire safety investigation in the past month, and the problem had been corrected. Neighbours described the rooming house as home to people struggling with addictions.

Arrest and charges

Lulonda Lynn Flett, 40 at the time of the charging announcements, was arrested in a Main Street bar on Saturday and was charged in connection with the rooming house fire.

Flett faced:

• Five counts of second-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder (as stated on July 18, 2011, and July 17, 2011 reporting), and
• An additional charging variation in July 17, 2011 reporting referenced as four counts of second-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder.

The house address repeatedly identified in the charging and fire descriptions was 288 Austin St. N. in Winnipeg’s Point Douglas neighbourhood.

Court records showed Flett had been ordered by the courts to stay away from her sister-in-law, Lynette Harper, in the week before the fire.

Prior conduct and related court matters

Court records showed Lulonda Flett had been handed a conditional sentence on assault charges after pleading guilty to participating with another woman in a 2009 attack on Lynette Harper.

The week before the fire, Flett had been ordered by the courts to stay away from Harper.

Trial and plea

Guilty plea

On October 22, 2012, Lulonda Flett pleaded guilty to:

• Five counts of manslaughter (one for each death),
• One count of arson.

The plea was described as part of a deal with the Crown to avoid a long trial.

During the hearing, Justice Brenda Keyser asked Flett questions about her understanding of the charges and her certainty that the offence took place:

"You hesitated a bit. Are you certain this took place?"
"Yes," Flett answered.
"You appreciate you will go to jail for long period of time?" the judge asked.
"Yes," Flett said.
"Anything you want to say?" Keyser asked.
"No," Flett replied.

Flett’s lawyer, Darren Sawchuk, said Flett did not intend to kill anyone:

"I think once the facts are laid out before the court, when we return [for sentencing], you'll have a better understanding of the lack of intent in this case and the other circumstances that make manslaughter the appropriate charge," Sawchuk said outside court.

The maximum penalty for the charges was described as life in prison.

A sentencing hearing was set for March 21, 2013.

Victims

The victims who died in the fire were identified as:

• Norman Darius Anderson, 22
• Maureen Claire Harper, 54
• Kenneth Bradley Monkman, 49
• Dean James Stranden, 44
• Robert Curtis Laforte, 56

Court coverage also identified:

• Bradley Anderson as remaining in hospital and listed in critical condition but later upgrade to stable (as stated).

In additional discussion of the fire and sentencing considerations, Lulonda Flett was described as knowing one of the men personally and as being related to Maureen Harper.

Sentencing

On June 12, 2013, Justice Brenda Keyser sentenced Lulonda Flett to five life sentences:

• one for each case of manslaughter,
• with the sentences to be served concurrently,
• with parole eligibility in five years.

The sentencing discussion included that two years were knocked off her parole eligibility wait for time already served.

At sentencing, the judge said she considered all of Flett’s cognitive challenges and difficulties in life. The judge also believed Flett intended to cause harm to two women in the fire, even if she did not intend the full catastrophic consequences.

Flett left the courtroom in tears.

Impact on victims and statements

Evelyn Laforte, mother of Robert Curtis Laforte, died in the fire, described her emotions about the verdict:

“I realize that nothing can bring my son back,” said Laforte. “So I guess the justice system has done what they can.”

Laforte described Robert as “a kind person who never had much in life.” She also said she did not think she would ever have closure:

“Any mother that loses a child knows the heartache,” said Laforte.

Lyle Duhaime said he knew three of the five people who died and described the ongoing harm of the deaths:

"It always hurts, especially when people aren't ready to die yet," Duhaime told CBC News.
"They're still alive … it wasn't their time, eh? It didn't happen naturally."

Duhaime said that if he had been living in the house at the time of the fire, he likely would have died as well:

"If he had been living in the house at the time of the fire, he likely would have died as well."

Todd Calback described fear and shock after visiting the home:

"He was definitely home," Calback said, hoping for the best.
"And he was definitely sleeping."

Nicole described seeing the fire and people running around:

"I felt the heat from the house," she said.
"It was … it was really hard to watch," she said.
"I'm just really sad that people were hurt last night, and that's it."

Reid Douglas provided comments about fire prevention and surprise about multiple casualties:

"I was actually quite surprised to hear multiple casualties [there]," Douglas said, "because our fire prevention branch has been doing such a fantastic job in rooming houses."

A neighbour statement was also quoted from Chris D'Souza:

"This house has always been a house that's associated with activity of late-night partying, drugs and so on," Chris D'Souza said.

Marie Anderson, the mother of Norman Anderson, wrote Lulonda Flett a letter, which was quoted verbatim:

“I often think about you and wonder how you must be feeling. I am writing you this letter to let you know I am not mad or angry with you and that I love you even though I never met you. It is really hard for me to think about this person that I love so much, that was taken away from me suddenly. I pray that things will go well for you in court and I do not want to lay charges but it’s not up to me, to make that decision. I want you to know I want to put this behind me and move on with my life God bless you and take care –Marie Anderson home last updates contact”

Other details

Court-ordered exclusion and violence allegations

Court records indicated Lulonda Flett had been ordered to stay away from Lynette Harper. Flett had previously pleaded guilty in relation to a 2009 attack on Harper and received a conditional sentence on assault charges.

Conditions in the home and emergency response

Firefighters were called shortly before 2 a.m. CT on July 16, 2011. Damage was estimated at $100,000.

Six adults were taken to hospital in critical condition and four were pronounced dead soon after, as reported during the first day of the fire’s impact. Robert Curtis Laforte died later after being in critical condition.

Personality, psychological findings, and substance use (as stated in narrative material)

A blog-style narrative quoted Lulonda Flett as telling psychologist Dr. Kent Somers:

“It was all about the drinking. That’s how I ended up here.”

The same narrative quoted Dr. Kent Somers findings about Flett’s learning, stress responses, and behaviour:

“Her responses to stress or to problems in her personal life are likely to be more limited and less effective than are those of most others her age. Her actions are most likely to be directed by immediate considerations [most likely about herself] rather than anticipation of long-term consequences [those affecting both herself and others]. Her focus on her own needs and interests over those of others is not a reflection of callous self-interest, it is an expression of her limited capacity for anticipating others’ needs or reactions while being [in comparison] acutely aware of her own hurt, fear and perceived options.“

The narrative also quoted Dr. Somers as finding no “compelling evidence of psychopathy” and listed “historical factors” associated with Flett’s offending risk, including:

• Unabated substance abuse, with no intervention
• Chronic domestic abuse with physical injuries
• Emotional neglect
• Sexual abuse which persisted despite having tried to report it
• Disrupted schooling
• No interventions; no treatment for mental health issues in past

Additionally, the narrative included a quoted statement attributed to Lulonda Flett:

“I wish it was me who died.”

The narrative stated Flett was nearly two years sober at the time of writing and described her as living in the “Delta” wing of the Women’s Correctional Centre just outside of Winnipeg and facing intimidation by other inmates.

Domestic abuse and substance use (as included in narrative material)

The narrative included descriptions of alleged physical, sexual, and emotional abuse by a husband described in the narrative as “B.” It also included alleged incidents such as being “forced” to drink, being locked in a house with shoes taken and phone removed, being hit with objects, and being burnt with a cigarette. It also described the narrative as stating that the husband was charged and served six months in lockup and was fully compliant, and that violence continued after his release.

The narrative also described alleged alcohol use and addiction-related context, including hospitalizations for alcohol withdrawal and resumed drinking after discharge, with a reported daily consumption.

Relationship and drinking trip (as included in narrative material)

The narrative included details about a relationship with C., described as a man from her community who was “36,” and referenced that he was an alcoholic and that he and Flett spent time together and were drinking constantly.

It stated that a call to Child and Family Services occurred while Flett was drinking and that her children were taken away, with one already living with an aunt and others going to her mother and to their father. It included a quoted statement from Flett about not trusting “him” regarding the belief that he made a call resulting in apprehension.

Fire-night recollection (as included in narrative material)

The narrative stated Flett had uncertainty as to her actions almost 20 months after the fire and that she recalled attending 288 Austin Street North but voiced uncertainty as to her actions. It also stated she had been cut loose from a Remand Centre after being taken on an old warrant for an assault against a relative who stayed at the rooming house, and that she had court orders barring her from being around someone associated with the rooming house.

It also stated that she reported that C. had told her they had argued on the night in question but that she could not remember what the argument was about.