Bedridden beating victim faces alleged attacker in court

Lying in a hospital bed, Dougald Miller was rolled into an Edmonton courthouse Friday for the retrial of a man accused of beating him into an almost vegetative state.

Miller, now 68, was wrapped in blankets and accompanied by his wife Lesley, who said it was important for the judge to see that her husband can no longer speak or move on his own.

"A picture paints a thousand words," said Lesley Miller.

"Dougald can't speak, so his presence in there says more than words. I could never explain properly how we feel. There's no words in the English dictionary to tell you how we feel about Teskey and what happened."

Leo Teskey, 37, is being tried for a second time for aggravated assault. The Supreme Court awarded him a new trial because the original judge took too long in releasing his written decision.

Miller was attacked in 2000 while escorting a man, whohad beensleeping in the hallway, out of the Edmonton apartment building he managed. He was beaten so severely that his wife could only identify him from a birthmark on his leg.

Miller, who has lived in a care facility since the attack, slept for most of the proceedings but twice let out a loud moan.

On the final day of the week-long retrial, Teskey's lawyer chose to present no evidence and did not put his client on the witness stand.

Closing arguments are scheduled for next week, with a verdict expected in the new year.

The Supreme Court ruling in June also set aside a dangerous offender designation for Teskey, who has a history of 34 convictions, including assaulting a two-year-old boy and shooting a police officer in the head.

The last time the bedridden Miller left his care facility was in 2004 for Teskey's original assault trial.