Protesters say bench conviction in fiery attack on teen should include attempted murder
Updated: A Michigan judge is facing protest over her verdict last month concerning a 17-year-old attacked last year by an ex-boyfriend in her own home.
Judge Pamela Lightvoet convicted Adam Shigwadja of home invasion, arson and assault in the Kalamazoo County Circuit Court case. But critics are upset that the judge found that Shigwadja lacked requisite intent for attempted murder.
A rally and protest march spearheaded by the local YWCA is scheduled Monday, the same day that Shigwadja, 19, is to be sentenced, according to the Associated Press, MLive.com and WOOD.
The victim, Sophia Putney-Wilcox, now 18, was cut on the chest during the 2014 attack. She and Shigwadja had dated, but were broken up by the time of the attack. She testified at trial in July that Shigwadja, who had broken into her family’s home and was hiding under a comforter in her bedroom, jumped out with a knife, poured gasoline on her belongings and set her room on fire, reports MLive.com.
Then he tried to pull them both toward the fire, she said. “I thought that I was going to die.” Earlier that day, she said, Shigwadja had sent her a text saying that he intended to set himself on fire in front of the home.
Hearing her cries, her mother and brother intervened and her brother chased Shigwadja off with a baseball bat, inadvertently injuring Putney-Wilcox in the process.
In an earlier MLive.com article, Lightvoet explained her verdict following a four-day bench trial last month. “I found that if Mr. Shigwadja intended to kill Sophia, he would have—and could have done that.” Lightvoet said. “The issue is intent, and given everything that’s happened, I don’t find that he intended to kill her on that particular night.”
Instead, Shigwadja intended to commit suicide, the judge found.
“Obviously he very much loved her,” Lightvoet said. “It went way overboard to a ridiculous number of texts and a ridiculous attempt to get her attention.”
On Monday the judge called Shigwadja a danger to society and gave him a sentence that will require him to serve at least 29 years, reports MLive.com.
Related coverage:
MLive.com: “Kalamazoo assault victim: ‘Every single person deserves better than what I went through’”
Updated at 2:23 p.m. to add additional details on the relationship between Shigwadja and Putney-Wilcox and on Sept.15 to include information about Shigwadja’s sentence.
