LINDSAY TRIAL: Crown questions killer’s story
A Crown lawyer called into question the true motives behind an admitted Edmonton killer on the last day of his aggravated-assault trial stemming from a jail-cell stabbing at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre last fall.
Mark Lindsay, the son of former Edmonton police chief John Lindsay, has already admitted to stabbing 21-year-old Michel Fougere, his former cellmate, as well as an undercover police officer investigating him as part of an RCMP Mr. Big sting.
Lindsay, 25, also confessed in court to murdering his ex-girlfriend, 31-year-old Dana Turner.
He said he committed the three crimes in self-defence, claiming to have been the target of a group of vigilantes he called “serial killers” or “healers” who were after him for more than three years because he was a “low-life.”
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley had said previously Lindsay’s story calls into question his mental health.
In court on Wednesday, Aug. 22, Crown prosecutor Will Burrows pressed Lindsay on his story, casting doubt on his intentions and motives.
“Did you tell people you could work the criminal-justice system?” the lawyer asked. “By work, I mean manipulate.”
Lindsay responded sharply.
“I don’t know what the basis of your question is,” he said. “Can you tell me why you’re asking me that?”
Burrows questioned whether Lindsay had created the serial-killer story to “appear crazy” and escape a lengthy jail term.
“I don’t believe I’m crazy,” Lindsay replied.
“Everything I’m saying is not a lie. I’m not attempting to work the justice system. I’m telling the truth.
“It’s been very hard to do so. It’s been a very long three years.”
Last summer, Lindsay spent 50 days in an Edmonton jail after stabbing Turner, 31, in the head. He was released from custody on Aug. 12, 2011, two days before Turner disappeared.
Lindsay admitted in a Kamloops courtroom last week to killing her, claiming she was “a powerful witch” and a member of the group of serial killers — perhaps even “a ring-leader,” he supposed — who wanted him dead.
He dumped her body in a farmer’s field near Red Deer.
On Sept. 17, 2011, Lindsay became the target of a Mr. Big sting. Three days later, he set off with an undercover Mountie from Edmonton destined for Kamloops.
They made it as far as Barriere, where Lindsay stabbed the officer above the eye and stole the pickup truck in which they’d been travelling.
Lindsay testified he had received threats that he would be “hacked up with a chainsaw” in Kamloops if he continued the journey.
He also said the undercover Mountie had “subtly” admitted to being a serial killer.
Kamloops RCMP arrested Lindsay a short time later near McLure, and he was held at KRCC.
On Oct. 20, 2011, Lindsay attacked Fougere during a game of Scrabble in the cell the two shared at the provincial jail.
Testifying in B.C. Supreme Court this week, Fougere said he was losing and Lindsay was keeping score.
“All I remember was that he grabbed the back of my head, said I was casting black magic on him and he jabbed me in the left eye,” Fougere said.
“Did you feel the pencil go into your eye?” asked Burrows.
“Yes,” Fougere replied.
“Did you feel like you were fighting for your life?” Burrows asked.
“Yep,” Fougere said.
Lindsay then stabbed Fougere again in the same eye, this time with a pen.
Fougere was left permanently blinded in one eye.
Lindsay said the attack, like that on Turner and the undercover officer, was out of necessity, claiming Fougere had threatened to kill him.
“He said something along the lines of, ‘If that’s why you killed Dana, you’d want to kill me, too,’” he said.
“It became clear to me he was a healer and I felt very endangered.”
Lindsay said he began to fear for his safety.
“I didn’t know if he was going to kill me in my sleep or not,” he said.
“So, I slept with a pencil under my pillow.”
Lindsay told court Fougere had “cast a spell” on him — and he began to panic.
“I really believed I was dying or about to die,” Lindsay said.
“I wasn’t sure if the spell was killing me or he was about to kill me.”
Lindsay decided to strike during the game of Scrabble.
“I got the pencil and I stuck it in his eye and he screamed,” he said.
“I said, ‘Stop working black magic on me’ — just out of my panic.
“I was so convinced that what I had to do was kill him to postpone my death.”
Lindsay has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine if he was suffering from a mental disorder when he stabbed the undercover officer and Fougere.
If doctors conclude he was, he could be found not criminally responsible by way of a mental disorder.
If they determine he was of a sound mind, Lindsay will be found guilty of both assaults and sentenced.
Lindsay is also slated to appear in a Red Deer courtroom in January for a preliminary inquiry on a second-degree murder charge relating to Turner’s death.
He is expected back in a Kamloops courtroom on Sept. 25, at the conclusion of his psychiatric assessment.
LAWSUIT BEING PLANNED?
The family of the man left permanently blind in one eye after a jail-cell fight with admitted killer Mark Lindsay last fall at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre appears to be preparing to file a lawsuit against the provincial government — and, potentially, Lindsay himself.
A Kelowna-based civil lawyer attended Lindsay's trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops this week, taking notes of testimony from Lindsay, a corrections officer, a Kamloops Mountie and the victim, Michel Fougere.
Keri Grenier told KTW she couldn't discuss specifics, but said "there are possibilities" as far as civil proceedings go.
Fougere claimed in court to have waited between five and 10 minutes for help after pushing an emergency-call button inside his cell during Lindsay's attack. A KRCC corrections officer, meanwhile, said he responded within 30 seconds.
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.