PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — A homeless woman who was viciously beaten before being set on fire says she worries her attacker will hurt someone else after a judge ruled Wednesday Leslie Black won’t be designated a dangerous offender.
Black pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the beating, burning and sexual assault of Marlene Bird in an alley in Prince Albert, Sask., in 2014. Her injuries were so serious both legs had to be amputated and she lost much of her eyesight.
“He’ll do that to somebody else,” said Bird, who is 50, outside court Wednesday. ”He’s got to learn not to treat women like that.”
She said it was painful to see her attacker but she felt it was important for Black to see her.
“He just looked at me and looked down,” Bird said. “Didn’t say sorry.”
Judge Stanley Loewen said in his ruling that after the 2014 attack, Black walked to a nearby 7-Eleven and bought candy. Black then walked past Bird, who was still on fire, and ignored her.
It was several hours before Bird was discovered and was barely clinging to life with burns so severe they exposed her facial bones.
“Her right foot was attached only by a piece of skin,” Loewen said, noting the photos of her wounds were “quite disturbing.”
Loewen ruled while Black’s brutal crime warrants a lengthy jail sentence and a long-term supervision order, he felt his risk to reoffend could be managed in the community.
The judge will sentence Black on Sept. 22.
Bird told court in June she can’t do anything on her own now, including simple things such as picking a blueberry or going to the bathroom.