Woman who killed lover faces sentencing

Wheelchair-bound man dialed friend after girlfriend doused home with gas, set fire with lighter

November 27, 2005

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER -A woman who confessed to pouring gasoline through the Finger Lakes house she shared with her wheelchair-bound boyfriend before igniting a blaze that killed him is scheduled to be sentenced Monday.

Niobie Ewing, 32, is convicted of killing Thomas Bourbeau, 56, on Aug. 1, 2004. She has been in jail since she was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree arson, manslaughter, first-degree criminal mischief and first-degree endangering the welfare of a vulnerable adult, according to court records.

In July, Ewing accepted a plea agreement to second-degree murder and second-degree arson charges, with the other charges being dropped. Sentencing, originally scheduled for Oct. 24, was reset for Nov. 28.

Ewing's attorney, Leslie Heibert with the Office of Public Advocacy in Anchorage, said the sentencing will likely be reset once again. Heibert says the state was slow to respond to her request for discovery for Ewing's pre-sentence report. Heibert needs more time now, she said, to prepare her requests for sentencing and expects the court to allow her more time to look over expert testimony in the case instead of handing down a sentence.

&#8220I guess we'll know on Monday,” Heibert said.

According to charging documents, Ewing admitted to Alaska State Troopers investigators that she and Bourbeau were arguing in the house they shared off Schelin Spur Road, an argument also heard by Ewing's adolescent son.

The boy told investigators he heard his mother say during the argument, &#8220You want to die, m——f——?” and that Bourbeau responded by saying she didn't &#8220have the balls,” according to investigator reports.

Then Ewing told her son to pack some clothes because they were leaving. Once they were outside, Ewing kicked a hole in the garage door and crawled through the hole to get a gas can, according to statements from Ewing and her son to investigators. Ewing told troopers she used the can to pour gasoline on Bourbeau, throughout the house, down the stairs and in the garage, trooper reports said.

The teen told troopers he heard Ewing tell Bourbeau to &#8220give me the money or I'll burn it down,” and Bourbeau's reply, &#8220You wouldn't dare,” according to court documents. When Ewing came outside again, the boy told troopers, she lit her purple lighter and dropped it in the gas.

First Ewing, and then Bourbeau called a mutual friend, Michelle Walter, about 7:30 p.m., according to the reports. In her phone call, Ewing told Walter what she had done, and said, &#8220I can't believe I killed the son of a bitch,” the report said.

Walter called 911 after she received a call from Bourbeau, who called while Ewing was still on the phone. Bourbeau told her Ewing had poured gas all over him and the house, the report said.

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.