Woman who torched funeral chapel to impress friends jailed

A woman who set fire to one of Perth's main funeral venues, causing more than $3.4 million in damage, has been jailed for five years. The court heard Tianna Addison Diodato-Day lit the fire to impress a friendship group and was also involved in a series of cemetery arsons in Mandurah. The judge said the insurance payout would ultimately be borne by the community through higher premiums. A woman who set fire to a chapel in Perth's main cemetery, causing more than $3 million damage and widespread disruption to mourning families, has been sentenced to five years in prison. Tianna Addison Diodato-Day, 30, set the Norfolk Chapel at Karrakatta Cemetery alight in October 2024. Diodato-Day concealed her face and smashed her way through the glass door before pouring fuel from a jerry can onto the floor and furniture. After she set the fuel alight, she sent a video to someone named 'Bunter' — though it was not explained who that was. "I hope I did you proud," she messaged. "I want to be part of this friend group still." The District Court heard the chapel was closed for 12 months and the cost of repairs exceeded $3.4 million. Judge Carmel Barbagallo said families were unable to farewell loved ones in a place they had chosen, and there was pressure on facilities and staff. She said the cemetery was where 40 per cent of all funerals in WA took place, describing it as a place of "mourning, remembrance and cultural significance". Trail of destruction The Karrakatta blaze was the most destructive in a series of fires Diodato-Day was involved in over the course of several days. She also accompanied a man named Dennis Dear as he lit fires at Mandurah's Lakes Lawn Cemetery causing $412,000 damage. Diodato-Day also used accelerant to set fire to a grave at another cemetery in Mandurah. She then sent a video via Snapchat to 'Bunter'. "She's burning this one," she messaged. There was no attempt by Diodato-Day or Dear to extinguish any of the fires and they did not alert authorities. Judge Barbagallo said Diodato-Day wanted to prove her worth to a friend group by lighting the fires. Dear, 28, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to two Lakes Lawn arsons and breaching a conditional imprisonment order. He will be eligible for parole in February. Judge Barbagallo refused the City of Mandurah's application for $133,000 in compensation from Dear after his lawyer told the court he had no capacity to pay. The judge said that while the $3.4 million cost of the Norfolk Chapel fire was covered by an insurance policy, the community would ultimately pay through higher insurance premiums. The CEO of the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board Kathlene Oliver, said on Friday said the crime had caused significant distress to many families. "The arson attack on Norfolk Chapel was not just an attack on a cemetery building, it was an attack on the community," she said. "The Norfolk Chapel holds deep significance for generations of Western Australian families who have come together there to honour and remember loved ones."