Superior Court of Justice, Windsor. (Photo by Mike Vlasveld)Superior Court of Justice, Windsor. (Photo by Mike Vlasveld)
Windsor

Man Convicted Of Attempted Murder Maintains Innocence

Kenneth Kormendy maintained his innocence at his sentencing hearing on Monday.

Kormendy was found guilty last year of three counts of attempted murder and one count of arson. The charges stem for a 2015 fire that seriously injured a young girl, Isabel Rueda, and put the lives of her mother, Sheri Rueda, and baby sister in jeopardy.

During the sentencing hearing on Monday, the court heard victim impact statements from the victims' family as well as character references from Kormendy's family.

"It's really difficult to gauge the level of emotional recovery, she has her good days and her bad days," said Jose Rueda, Isabel's father. "As a parent, you want the person who hurt your child, you want some kind of retribution of any kind, however, no amount of time is going to alleviate what my daughter has experienced."

Crown attorney Walter Costa is asking the judge for a life sentence with no eligibility of parole for ten years. Defence attorney Helen Burgess asked the court for a ten-year sentence.

The judge, Justice Christopher Bondy, will come back with a decision on November 6, 2017.

Kormendy told the court he is innocent of the charges and intends to appeal the decision as soon as he is able.

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