Woman averts jail time for tossing coffee at man 'Either she's insane or she's evil,' judge says in handing commuter 12 months probation plus fines for burning victim in morning rush June 2, 2009 By ANTHONY REINHART
It was another Wednesday and another morning commute for Michael Beline, elementary school teacher, when he left his Toronto home and headed downtown to catch a GO train on April 9, 2008.
New on the job at a school in Pickering, Ont., east of Toronto, Mr. Beline, 30, dreaded the daily crush at Union Station, but was eager to get to work as he made for platform 4A.
Then, from behind, a woman's voice: "Don't you fucking cut me off."
He turned around and it hit him in the face: a scalding torrent of coffee, thrown from a near-full cup by Christine Bedford, a white-haired, 58-year-old administrative professional.
Had Ms. Bedford drunk the coffee and not thrown it, things surely would have turned out better for both of them. Instead, Mr. Beline suffered second-degree burns and Ms. Bedford wound up before a judge in Toronto yesterday, where she pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm.
In the process, she endured her own hot splash of invective from Mr. Justice Bruno Cavion of the Ontario Court of Justice.
"Either she's insane or she's evil; which one is it?" Judge Cavion shouted at Ms. Bedford's lawyer, Stephanie Heyens, who apparently was not explaining her client's actions quickly enough for the judge.
Ms. Heyens replied that Mr. Beline "jostled her and cut her off in a manner that caused her to get upset." As a result, Ms. Bedford simply lost it, and in "an impulsive act," threw her coffee at him.
Spontaneous as it was, the act came with lasting consequences for both commuters. Ms. Bedford, who had made it to late middle age without ever having a brush with the law, received a suspended sentence of 12 months probation, and was ordered to pay $1,500 in restitution and make a $500 donation to the hospital charity of her choice.
Judge Cavion acknowledged her clean prior record, but implied she was lucky not to wind up behind bars. "Believe me, 30 to 60 days in jail would not be shocking to most people."
Mr. Beline continued on his trip to work that day, but a colleague aboard the train spotted him, saw his skin blistering and said, "This is a major problem." He went to hospital within hours, was off work for two weeks, and needed three more rounds of treatment before his face healed.
"I'm a little tense now going to work in the morning," he said, adding he had difficulty being near people with coffee, and still can't stomach breakfast. He spent last summer out of the sun or under a Tilley hat due to his burns, which doctors said will boost his susceptibility to skin cancer.
"It ruined a lot for me," Mr. Beline said, explaining that he agreed to go public with his name and photograph as a kind of anti-bullying statement, similar to those he makes to the children at his school.
"I'm happy today with what happened."
