Drunk woman who recorded herself live singing an Eminem and Rihanna song that includes the lyrics ‘watch me burn’ as she sat inside the burning house she deliberately set on fire was spared from prison.
Katie Richardson, 28, endangered the lives of five children who lived next to her as she sat on the sofa watching the fire spread through the housing association’s property.
Richardson started screaming after she walked out of the house, that there was a man trapped inside.
The firefighters – who had rushed to the scene with four machines each equipped with hydraulic nacelles – entered the building to look for the man.
A firefighter injured his finger, only for Richardson to shout, “Haha, there’s not even anyone in there, he’s still fucking in jail.”
But the arsonist, who had drunk a lot that night, was sentenced on Friday to two years in prison, suspended for two years.
She was also given a six-month residency order and was asked to undergo 30 days of rehabilitation and a 120-day alcohol abstinence programme, Teesside Live reports.
Teesside Crown Court heard Richardson set fire to her possessions, then sat on the sofa, filming a dressing gown which was hung on fire in her living room. She was singing rapper Eminem’s hit Love the Way You Lie with popstar Rihanna.
Tabitha Buck, prosecuting, said: “She wasn’t doing anything about the fire instead, she was singing Eminem’s Love The Way You Lie with Rihanna, which has the lyrics ‘watch me burn’.”
Richardson then punched a police officer who had taken her to North Tees University Hospital, Stockton-on-Tees, for treatment. The family of seven who lived next door were able to get out of their house because Richardson’s smoke alarms were activated around 2am.
Richardson, now homeless, pleaded guilty to arson with reckless endangerment of life and assaulting a rescue worker at an earlier hearing.
Sentencing Richardson, Judge Simon Jackson said: “You were under the influence of alcohol and overdosed on pregabalin. You had a significant impact on firefighter resources.
“I am confident that you have expressed genuine remorse and are seriously committed to recovery. Your drug addiction is the result of sustained abuse that spanned ten years.
“You made it your goal to get your children back and agreed to move south, away from them and your support network. You agreed to be subjected to rigorous testing.”