Man fears for life after pleading guilty to beating
A man who pleaded guilty to the beating and sexual assault of a 20-year-old woman in Banff this summer says he doesn't expect to survive prison.
Albert George Muckle, 25, was in court in Calgary Thursday as part of the Crown's efforts to have him declared a dangerous offender.
A drifter from Ontario, the heavily tattooed Muckle said he's been placed in jail with rival gang members and alleges that he was beaten.
- FROM JULY 12, 2005: Police investigate attack on woman in Banff
"I'll be lucky to live through this," the 25-year-old told Court of Queen's Bench Judge Sandra Hamilton, one of a number of instances when he interrupted the proceedings.
"Look at my face. I just got into a fight this morning," he said, while pointing to his head.
Muckle â who has refused to be represented by a lawyer â has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault in the attack, which left a 20-year-old woman in a coma.
The woman, who remains in a coma in a care facility in Ottawa near her family, must be fed by a tube. She isn't expected to recover.
Police said the woman, who worked in a hotel in Banff, was strangled and left unconscious and partially clothed in a park on July 11.
Crown wants delay
On Thursday, Crown prosecutor Patricia Yelle asked for more time to sift through boxes of documents shipped from Ontario, where Muckle spent his youth.
Yelle said they are also waiting for other documents, some of which require search warrants.
But Muckle said he would sign anything to allow access to the documents, and claims that he's been told by psychiatrists in the past that the information in them isn't enough to have him declared a dangerous offender.
Hamilton told Muckle he needs to have a lawyer for the dangerous offender hearing. She said she will recommend legal aid appoint him counsel to handle his defence of the dangerous offender application and to deal with his safety concerns.
Muckle's next court appearance is in December. He also is required to undergo a 60-day psychiatric evaluation.