KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A man who was stabbed in the eye with a pencil by another inmate during a jailhouse game of Scrabble says his attacker accused him of casting black magic.
Michel Fougere told B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops, B.C., Tuesday he was caught completely off guard when he was grabbed by fellow inmate Mark Lindsay at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre last year.
Lindsay, the 25-year-old son of former Edmonton police chief John Lindsay, is on trial for aggravated assault against 22-year-old Fougere, who was his former cell-mate.
“I know for a fact he was trying to kill me,” said Fougere, who was visibly emotional and wore dark glasses during his testimony and declined comment to reporters after his court appearance.
Mark Lindsay admitted to the Scrabble attack in court last week, and also admitted to slashing an undercover police officer and to killing his former girlfriend, Dana Turner.
Lindsay told court he killed Turner in a panic before dumping her body, which was found last October in a field near Innisfail, Alta. He said he believed she was a serial killer and his life was in danger. He also testified that he thought a group of serial killers was after him over false allegations that he sexually assaulted one of their friends, they spoke to him in person, on his cell phone and by psychic means.
At the time of the jailhouse attack, the facility was on lockdown to accommodate a temporary staff shortage while prison guards had gone to lunch, the court heard Tuesday.
Fougere testified he and Lindsay were on opposite sides of the bottom bunk playing Scrabble when, without warning, Lindsay yelled, “you’re casting black magic on me,” grabbed the back of Fougere’s head and stabbed him in the left eye with a pencil.
The men fought while Fougere reached for the emergency call button and then fell to the floor.
Lindsay was taken away without incident before paramedics arrived to take Fougere to hospital. Fougere was eventually airlifted to Vancouver for surgery, but doctors were unable to save his eye. He is permanently blind in his left eye and suffers pain and migraines, he said.
Fougere said there had been no indication of anger or tension before the attack, and he had no idea of allegations that Lindsay had attacked an undercover police officer and killed Turner.
But Lindsay testified Tuesday that he heard Fougere threaten to kill him numerous times and had come to the point of panic because Fougere had cast a black magic spell on him. He also said he thought Fougere was part of the same group of serial killers as Turner
Lindsay said he tried to befriend Fougere, thinking he wouldn’t want to kill him if he got to know him.
Following the attack, the court heard Lindsay became subdued, sat on the floor, held Fougere’s hand and even began to cry.
“I held his hand and said ’You know why I had to do this,’ and he nodded,” said Lindsay. “That told me he wasn’t just a normal person.
“I was friends with him,” said Lindsay. “I was crying out of sorrow that it had come to that point. I was struggling with it. It was such an alarming attack.”
On Thursday, Lindsay’s lawyer, Don Campbell, said the judge ordered a psychiatric assessment to help determine if Lindsay is not criminally responsible for his actions because of a mental disorder. The 30-day psychiatric assessment will be conducted in Vancouver
Last weekend, Lindsay’s parents issued a statement saying they are “very greatly saddened by the profound pain of all who have suffered”.
from the events described in court.
The couple said health problems have prevented them from attending their son’s court proceedings, but that they love their son.
The trial resumes Wednesday when the Crown takes over questioning Lindsay.