Toronto 'Chair Girl' spared jail for 2019 balcony stunt
- Published
A Toronto woman received probation, community service and a fine for throwing a chair from a high-rise balcony onto a highway in 2019.
Marcella Zoia, 20, nicknamed "Chair Girl", had pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief endangering life in November.
Her dangerous prank was caught on camera and posted online, where it was viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
Crown prosecutors had sought up to six months in jail for Zoia.
Her sentencing was delayed numerous times, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic, but was finally delivered on Tuesday via teleconference.
Her lawyer, Gregory Leslie, told journalists in Toronto that the sentence was appropriate and fair and that his client is "ecstatic" the case is over.
He said she had been afraid of being sent to jail and when she heard her punishment "she maybe had a tear or two in her eyes".
The 20-year-old was sentenced to two years on probation, 150 hours of community service, and fined C$2,000 ($1,485; £1,165).
Mr Leslie also noted she is left with an adult criminal record.
He had previously said .
What did the 2019 video show?
In a video that first appeared on Snapchat, Zoia is seen flinging a chair from a high-rise balcony in February 2019.
The chair appears to hurtle towards the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto, one of the busiest highways in the country, and towards a busy sidewalk. There were no injuries.
The video was then uploaded to Facebook, where it went viral and caught the attention of local authorities, who subsequently identified her and charged her with mischief related offences.
The stunt won her some notoriety in the city. Zoia even made a brief appearance in a music video by Canadian rapper Drake, which was cut following an outcry on social media.
- Published13 February 2019
- Published12 February 2019