Woman poisons trees

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A Vancouver woman pleaded guilty on Thursday to poisoning several trees that border the city's downtown Stanley Park to improve the view of the ocean from her condominium.

June Matheson admitted she purchase herbicide in the United States and applied it to five trees in the spring of 2004 in an effort kill them. Three trees later died, according to a court document.

A witness told police that Matheson, a well known interior designer, had complained that the city-owned trees, which ranged in height between 25 and 45 feet, had grown too tall and she wanted to "get rid of them."

Prosecutors said Matheson may have felt an improved view of nearby English Bay would increase the value of her condo, which she sold in October 2004 for nearly C$1.7 million ($1.5 million), and called her actions "selfish in the extreme".

Matheson, 72, agreed last month to pay C$50,000 to the city to replace the dead trees and help plant others in Stanley Park, which is one of Canada's most famous urban parks. Local media reported she was given an absolute discharge by the court following the guilty plea.