Lethbridge Herald
Neither Crystal Joyce Mills nor Sheila May Crow Eagle said a word when they stood before a judge Monday.
The two women, who are accused of setting fire to a city landmark, made their first appearance in Lethbridge provincial court and were remanded in custody until their next hearing Wednesday.
Both women were charged with arson Saturday after a fire razed the historic Van Haarlem apartment complex in south Lethbridge Friday.
Mills, 40, of Stand Off, is charged with arson to property while disregarding human life, arson to property of others, as well as uttering threats and breach of recognizance. Crow Eagle, 25, of Lethbridge, also faces two counts of arson.
The women appeared in court by closed-circuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre. They were represented by duty counsel and the matter adjourned so they could hire a Legal Aid lawyer and prepare for their bail hearing Wednesday.
The 102-year-old building at 1224 7 Ave. S. was demolished by firefighters after fires in the basement and upper floors engulfed the 30-suite transitional house, burning the structure beyond repair. It was home to about 26 residents, three of whom were treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
The three-storey white apartment building was constructed in 1911, when it served as the Wimpole Maternity Hospital. It expanded over the years to include a medical lab and 30 beds before it was sold in 1929 to the Sisters of St. Martha, who converted it into St. Michael's Hospital. The hospital was converted into apartments in the 1930s and, until Friday, it was as a rooming house commonly known as the squirrel cage.