Sudbury man sentenced on arson-related charge in connection with 2021 fatal townhouse fire

A 29-year-old man was sentenced to four life sentences in a Greater Sudbury courtroom Wednesday. This follows convictions on three counts of first-degree murder and one of arson causing bodily harm.

A jury convicted Liam Stinson, 29, in May on those four counts after about three hours of deliberation. Stinson was found guilty of setting in motion a plan to throw homemade Molotov cocktails into a city-owned Bruce Avenue townhouse, starting a fire that killed three people and severely injured another.

Jamie-Lynn Rose, Jasmine Somers, and Guy Henri died as a result, while David Cheff jumped from an upper window to escape the flames.

Stinson received the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without a chance of parole for 25 years on the murder convictions. He was also sentenced to life imprisonment without a chance of parole for seven years on arson causing bodily harm. The sentences will run concurrently.

He has also been ordered to pay restitution to the City of Greater Sudbury Housing Corporation for about $303,000.

Stinson's lawyer, Liam Thompson, argued that to sentence Stinson to the maximum, there must be evidence of cruelty, brutality, and sadistic intent for the gratification of the offender, which he argues is absent.

Justice Dan Cornell noted the mitigating circumstances surrounding the sentence. He acknowledged that Stinson had his family's support throughout the trial and had tried to be a parental figure in his children's lives while in custody. But he said this carried little weight. He pointed to the element of intimate partner violence as an aggravating factor in the case, as Jamie-Lynn Rose was Stinson's former girlfriend. He also noted that the children lived with Rose before she was killed.

Justice Cornell also mentioned the "significant injuries" to Cheff. He said Cheff went into an eight-day coma after the arson and still suffers physical and emotional trauma. Cheff was quoted as saying the incident "changed me completely where I lost the ability to trust in people."

Stinson was originally charged with the attempted murder of David Cheff, but it was changed to arson causing bodily harm just before his trial.

The judge offered Stinson the opportunity to speak, but he declined. He was seen holding the hands of his family members through the glass box before exiting the courtroom.