EVERETT — Gigi Hays said she wanted to end her life the night she lit her Lake Stevens mobile home on fire.
A 16-year-old neighbor boy thwarted her plans, carrying Hays from the burning house despite her protests. Other neighbors held onto the distraught and injured woman to keep her from going back inside.
A Snohomish County judge Thursday granted Hays a first-time offender waiver, sparing the woman any jail time for setting the fire. Instead, Hays will be under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections for a year.
Superior Court Judge Millie Judge ordered Hays, 55, to continue with mental health treatment.
“This was a tragic incident both for yourself, your neighbors and your family,” Judge said.
About a month after the blaze, prosecutors charged Hays with first-degree domestic violence arson, alleging the fire “was manifestly dangerous to human life.”
Lake Stevens police reported that Hays told them she wanted to die in the fire. She also allegedly said she didn’t want her husband to get the mobile home in their divorce, according to court papers.
The couple was in the middle of a contentious legal battle. They have since divorced.
Hays could have been sentenced to more than two years in prison if she’d been convicted of arson.
Prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge to reckless burning, accusing Hays of starting a fire that damaged a building. They kept the domestic violence allegation, naming her ex-husband as the victim. Hays pleaded guilty to the felony last month.
She doesn’t have any prior convictions and faced up to two months in jail. Her defense attorney provided materials outlining her client’s struggles with mental illness.
Her illnesses contributed to her actions, public defender Whitney Rivera argued.
“She’s really made a lot of strides,” Rivera said Thursday. “She continues to work through these issues and she’s optimistic.”
The judge ordered Hays not to have any contact with her ex-husband for five years. He was at Thursday’s hearing. Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Rachel Cormier Anderson told the judge that the man’s primary concern is that Hays be required to continue to see a therapist and to take her medications as prescribed.
The fire was reported around 1 a.m. Aug. 8, 2015, after neighbors heard two loud explosions coming from the mobile home.
Kaiden Porter-Foy was watching TV in his bedroom when he heard an explosion, looked outside and saw the neighbor’s house on fire.
The high-schooler woke up his grandparents and raced toward the burning home.
Another neighbor told the teen that someone was inside. The front porch was collapsing so Porter-Foy ran to a side window. He saw a woman sitting on the floor, holding a gas can in her lap.
He kicked open the locked back door. Porter-Foy saw puddles of gasoline and Hays holding a red gas can. The teen grabbed the container out of her hands and threw it aside.
He carried her to safety. Hays had severe burns that sent her to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. She was released to a homeless shelter.
Judge was told Thursday that Hays is looking for permanent housing. A felony conviction could complicate her efforts.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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