Man who covered wife in gas, set fire to her hair found guilty of murder by Ontario court

The antheral accused of mounting occurrence to his estranged wife’s hairsbreadth and dousing her with gasoline has been recovered blameworthy of first-degree execution by an Ontario court.

Norbert Budai was recovered blameworthy of the first-degree execution of his estranged woman Henrietta Viski successful a ruling by Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly connected Friday, who said helium carried retired the onslaught successful “a horrific manner.”

The 41-year-old showed nary emotion arsenic the verdict was work out.

Kelly rejected Budai’s grounds astatine proceedings that helium ne'er meant to termination Viski. He argued the operation of intoxicant and fentanyl constricted his quality to program and deliberate the execution of his 37-year-old estranged wife, who was besides the parent of his 3 children.

At the opening of the trial, Budai pleaded not blameworthy to first-degree execution but blameworthy to second-degree murder. The Crown rejected that plea.

On June 17, 2022, Budai drove to Viski’s townhouse connected Chester Le Boulevard successful Toronto with a jerrycan filled with gasoline and broke down her door. He doused her with gasoline arsenic she sat connected the sofa and followed her retired of the location arsenic she tried to flee, earlier mounting her connected occurrence with a lighter.

Viski died the adjacent time from complications associated with burns to 80 per cent of her body. Court heard that the time earlier the gasoline attack, helium went to the townhouse and threatened her.

“Mr. Budai threatened to airy Ms. Viski connected occurrence connected June 16, 2022 — this is simply a connection of plan,” Kelly said, speechmaking from her reasons for sentence.

“He near the country of Ms. Viski’s location for astir 15 hours. This provided ample clip for Mr. Budai to deliberate, see his actions, and mode the consequences, adjacent if helium was consuming fentanyl and alcohol.”

Trending Now

Budai testified that helium was jealous that Viski had started a narration with different antheral and lone intended to acceptable her agleam red-dyed hairsbreadth connected fire. He repeated connected the basal that helium “never meant” to wounded her.

“It defies logic that idiosyncratic would beryllium truthful jealous that they would determine successful these circumstances to airy their estranged spouse connected occurrence to region her reddish hair, knowing that they would origin superior bodily harm that would apt origin death, but that is precisely what the defence is submitting Mr. Budai,” Kelly said.

“A planned and deliberated execution does not necessitate impervious that the idiosyncratic had a bully oregon elaborate plan, oregon that the deliberations contemplated however to get distant with what they were doing.”

The justice besides did not judge that Budai was incapable to admit the consequences of his actions owed to his intoxication.

“I bash not find that Mr. Budai was truthful intoxicated by intoxicant and fentanyl that his quality to program and deliberate Ms. Viski’s execution was limited.”

First-degree execution means a mandatory beingness condemnation with a parole ineligibility play of 25 years.

Assistant Crown lawyer Matthew Shumka asked if the justice could present her condemnation instantly fixed it is simply a foregone conclusion. Kelly told the tribunal her penchant would beryllium to instrumentality for the intent of sentencing astatine a aboriginal date.

Sentencing is acceptable for Nov. 7.