Windsor man found guilty of attempted murder, arson faces long sentence

CTV Windsor: Kormendy sentencing A Windsor man found guilty of attempted murder and arson will be sentenced next month. Stefanie Masotti has details.

A Windsor man, found guilty in a fire that nearly killed a mother and her two children, will be sentenced next month.

Kenneth Kormendy was found guilty of three counts of attempted murder and arson following a house fire on Balfour Boulevard in Oct. 2015 after the house he and his then-girlfriend and two children lived in went up in flames.

Kormendy appeared in Windsor Superior Court Monday where emotional sentencing submissions were presented.

The fire sent then seven-year-old Isabel Rueda to hospital with critical burns to her hands, feet, torso and face covering 15 per cent of her body.

The victim's father says the tragic ordeal has left his family with permanent, emotional damage.

“No amount of time is going to alleviate what my daughter has experienced” says Jose Rueda. “You want some sort of retribution."

A letter from Isabel's mother Sheri was read in court, stating “a piece of her died that day."

Kormendy also took the stand Monday where he maintained his innocence.

Defense lawyer Helen Burgess presented dozens of letters from Kormendy's friends and family members.

One from his brother stated “Ken has always been a kind-hearted man.” Another from a friend said “he is a person of compassion, I would trust him with my life.”

But Crown Attorney Walter Costa said “I don't think you can get more cruel that trying to kill people alive."

Costa wants Kormendy to serve a life sentence with a chance of parole after 10 years.

His defense is asking for 10 years behind bars.

Justice Christopher Bondy is expected to hand down his sentence on Nov. 6.

Kormendy told the court he plans to appeal the decision.