Despite being sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempting to murder her three children by setting the family home ablaze, a former Edmonton soldier isn’t behind bars..The 45-year-old who appealed the sentence handed down in June is under house arrest, free to go out a few hours on Sundays. No court date has been set for the appeal..She can’t be named due to a publication ban to protect the children’s identities. The woman who was discharged from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) will be referred to as CC..“I don’t know if she’s got an ankle bracelet. We just moved so she wouldn’t have any idea where we live,” her ex-husband, a former military member, told the Western Standard..“The school blocked her so she can’t see where the kids live.”.He said the children — boys 10 and eight years old, a girl seven at the time of the fire — have battled emotional scars “each affected in different ways.”.“My middle son tried to kill himself multiple times until 2021. He’s fine. He’s driving. He’s got a job.”.“My oldest got suspended from school for either fighting or abusive language towards women. He won’t admit he’s got issues. He won’t go get help.”.“My daughter went to rehab. She was doing everything. She got out in July. She’s been good so far. She’s got a job and a boyfriend who doesn’t do drugs.”.“They know their mother tried to kill them.”.Edmonton Court of King's Bench Justice John Little called it a premeditated “clumsy plan” by a mother trying to kill her children on July 19, 2015. .In February, he found CC guilty of three counts of attempted murder by arson and two counts of arson charges. She was sentenced June 15..Court heard CC opted to attempt murder/suicide because she didn’t want to comply with an order granting custody of the children to her ex-husband set to take effect July 24. They were in the process of divorcing..CC has spent less than a dozen days behind bars in the eight years following her crimes..“I feel Canada’s broken. I think if she didn’t appeal, the only way she’d be in jail is if she murdered those kids. A severe crime is a severe crime,” said the father..“They say attempted murder is the second worst crime in Canada. So, the second worst crime lets you be out of jail while you await trial — after you’re convicted.”.Until CC’s arrest, he fought for his children’s safety, trying to prevent her from being alone with them. To his horror, she was allowed three unsupervised visits in the month following the fire..It wasn’t until 2020, that he was granted full custody and she was denied all direct access to them..The initial military police investigations in 2015-16 didn’t result in charges. The military closed the case in 2016 despite having access to the same evidence, including a suicide note written that night, that led to CC’s conviction..“They said they couldn’t prove it was either my ex or my two boys that set the house on fire.” .After getting stonewalled by the military and turned away by RCMP who said it was military jurisdiction, he hired St. Albert lawyer Catherine Christensen with Valour Law in February 2018..An $11-million lawsuit was filed in April against the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of Defence, alleging that military police mishandled the investigation..It alleges both the father and children suffered sustained mental and emotional trauma with continuing after effects..“The whole reason we’re suing the military is because I don’t want to see someone else go through this,” he said..Christensen said that the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) “failed these children and their father.”.“The investigators tried to blame the father while also treating the nine-year-old as a suspect. All the evidence pointed to the mother trying to kill these three innocents — and investigators refused to lay charges,” she said..“Only the bravery of one child and the father’s unwavering commitment for justice for his children saved these children and had them see the woman face the court.” .“There’s no question that CFNIS owes this family for the hell they have been through for the past eight years.”.In 2015, he was awarded custody because it was determined “she wasn’t fit to be a mom.”.“When the military police investigated, they didn’t look into any of that,” he said..What led up to the fire that night?.The children were supposed to be in summer camp while their dad was deployed to fight wildfires in Saskatchewan. CC pulled them out, withdrew $11,000, and took them to West Edmonton Mall for a two-night stay at the Fantasyland Hotel. . Evidence letterEvidence letter .Mommy dearest brought them to her home on Canadian Forces Base Edmonton. She herded her children into the bedroom..The eldest boy testified she gave them NyQuil to make them sleep, said she loved them, and they’d never see their father again.. Evidence letterEvidence letter .When the nine-year-old said he smelled smoke she said it was wildfire smoke..“One boy was in the basement showing her it was on fire. She said she’d get to it later and closed the door. She gathered them all upstairs and told them to put a blanket over their heads and go back to sleep,” said the father..The 9-year-old helped his siblings through a second-storey window onto the roof of the entranceway and “screamed” for help. .A neighbor brought a ladder and got them to safety. CC was found unconscious inside..Insurance investigators determined the fire was deliberately set. Court heard accelerants and three smoke detectors disabled by CC were found in a bag in the basement where the fire originated..CC had sent a suicide letter on Fantasyland Hotel stationary to an acquaintance that read “by the time you read this I’ll be dead or in jail.” She enclosed $8,000 in cash allegedly because she didn’t want her ex to have the money which was eventually returned to her..The father later learned he’s been under investigation by military police, despite having provided evidence three days after the fire that he was on deployment..His persistence in trying to keep his children safe forced the case to be reopened..He filed a complaint with the Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada..“In 2018, the commission pretty much gave the military no option but to reopen the case.”.“I asked them why for a crime this severe would they close the case. If this happened downtown, if someone tried to murder somebody, they wouldn’t be able to close the case.”.That’s not all he’s endured. He’s also fighting the military for disability benefits. He was medically released in 2021. Both his application and appeal were denied..“I’m dealing with VAC (Veterans Affairs Canada). I was released on medical for trauma. VAC is saying it’s not the military’s fault.”.But a $11 million statement of claim alleges that despite repeated concerns raised by the father, military police failed to adequately investigate the attempted murders of the children and the arson..It states it shouldn’t have taken so long for CC to be arrested. .The lawsuit claims the father filed a complaint with the Canadian Forces Provost Marshall about the investigation, but it was closed December 2017, deemed unwarranted..That October, the father had received Co-operators insurance fire investigation report that determined the fire was deliberately set. He gave it to military, but the case wasn’t reopened..An April 21 statement of defence denied that “any servant of the Crown “was negligent or in breach of duty,” the Plaintiff didn’t suffer damages, and called for the action to be dismissed with “costs against the Plaintiff.”.“I’m pushing it because I was so disgusted in my own military, that they would do this to me and my kids. I had so much national pride. They took most of that away from me,” said the father..“The whole reason why she even got arrested was because I kept pushing.”.“She had a chance to get those kids out of the house after they woke her up and showed her the basement was on fire. Instead of doing the right thing, she continued to try to kill those kids.”
