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Lethbridge man sentenced for trying to kill father, stabbing mother in their sleep

Rachel Ward | CBC News | Posted: July 11, 2018 11:22 PM | Last Updated: July 11, 2018

Nigel Kyle Vermeulen, 29, tried to videotape attack and detailed plans in journal

Image | Lethbridge courthouse

Caption: A judge accepted a five-year joint sentencing agreement for Nigel Vermeulen. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

A 29-year-old man in Lethbridge tried to videotape his violent attack on his sleeping parents earlier this year, after detailing his plans in his journal.
Nigel Kyle Vermeulen pleaded guilty this week to attempting to murder his father, 72, and to assaulting his 62-year-old mother with a weapon.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Vermeulen wrote two computer diary entries about his plans to stab his parents in the half hour before police were called on Feb.11 at about 2:40 a.m.
"Cant sleep, hungry, so might as well kill my parents. Going to knife them and hope it works," the 2:07 a.m. entry read. "Dontknow what after, there is no after, all that matters is killing them."
"Going to hit play on camera and then doing it," said a second entry, time-stamped for nine minutes later.

Fit for trial

The Crown prosecutor and Vermeulen's defence lawyer, Greg White, submitted a joint sentencing recommendation of five years of imprisonment, which Judge Eric Peterson accepted in Lethbridge Provincial Court on Tuesday.
"Because of Mr. Vermeulen's particular condition," Crown prosecutor Erin Olsen said, "we believe that five years was the best sentence to impose both to respond to the serious nature of the offences and his particular mental health issues."
The agreed statement of facts details Vermeulen's health struggles and isolated life, which he told police he believed he could only escape by killing his parents.
Vermeulen was assessed over several months at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre. The report was used to determine that he was fit to stand trial and did not meet the criteria of not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.
The doctor diagnosed him with autism spectrum disorder without language impairment, selective mutism, delusional disorder and an unspecified personality disorder.
From a young age, he struggled with health issues and was diagnosed as a "selective mute" and with obsessive-compulsive disorder. He stopped going to school at Grade 9, and over the years became "less and less able to function in everyday society," the statement said.

Stabbing detailed

At the time of the attack, he was keeping to himself in the basement, eating alone, nodding to answer questions and only going outside with a parent.
In the early hours of Feb. 11, his father woke up to find Vermeulen stabbing him in the neck. His mother woke to her husband's scream and a sharp pain in her knee. She screamed his name and he ran outside into the cold winter's night.
His mother returned to her bedroom and found her husband bleeding badly from his neck. She called 911.
The knife was found to have gone through the father's neck into the oral cavity. Vermeulen later told police that it broke.
"As is well known, there are many vital structures in the human neck very close to the surface that, if injured by any type of sharp-edged weapon, could lead to death of the victim," the agreed statement of facts read.
The stab wound to his mother's knee did not require treatment. They've both since recovered from their injuries, Olsen said.

Parents 'fearful of their son'

Officers found an open knife drawer in the kitchen and a broken knife in the bedroom. They also found a camera that recorded Vermeulen selecting his weapon and moving into the bedroom.
"One can hear a few muffled noises, and then a harrowing scream from Mrs. Vermeulen," the statement said. "One can also hear that her immediate and obvious concern was for her son, what he had done and where he was going."
She later said she was worried he was improperly dressed for the cold. He was arrested that night and confessed to police.
His parents have since moved and have not spoken to or seen their son since they were attacked.
"They are fearful of their son, while still loving him and being concerned about him and for his future," the agreed statement of facts read.

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