A man was denied release after being charged with attempted murder at the Alberta Provincial Courthouse on Wednesday, September 16.
According to a media release issued on September 14, by Alberta RCMP Media Relations Officer Sgt. Josee Valiquette, Barrhead RCMP responded to a request from Emergency Services tending to a 45-year old woman at a residence in Barrhead on September 11. Investigations led to the location and arrest of her son, Coltin Demuth, who was charged with attempted murder.
According to Crown Prosecutor Jeffrey Morrison, on September 11, already bound by a no-contact court order for having assaulted his mother Lyla earlier in the year, Demuth, 19, broke into a residence at the Campsie Trailer Park and proceeded to beat his victim to within an inch of her life before fleeing the scene.
Police reports indicate that Demuth caused massive injury to his victim’s face, head and body, and that she is now in a medically induced coma in an Edmonton hospital.
“In all the years that I have done this job, I have never seen anything like this,” Morrison said.
Appearing in the Barrhead Provincial court via CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre, Demuth appeared bored.
According to Morrison, Demuth was on the run for 24 hours before Barrhead RCMP picked him up in the area of the incident.
“Demuth said it was his mother’s desire to be ‘curb-stomped’ to death, that he thought her head was filled with helium and he was doing her a favour,” Morrison said, reading from police reports, and added that Demuth reportedly kissed a pool of blood before he fled. “In another statement to police, Demuth indicated a legion of demons had told him to do it.”
“This community would be outraged if Demuth was released on any conditions, he definitely should not be released on bail at all,” Morrison said, and added that the Crown was seeking an indictment on all charges and seeking bail revocation.
Prior to the incidents on September 11, Demuth was scheduled to appear before court on September 22, on assault charges against the same victim.
“Considering the gravity and graphic nature of these allegations, I am denying your release and ordering you to be remanded into custody for a 30-day psychiatric assessment,” Judge Karl Wilberg told Demuth, and explained that the assessment was to determine whether the accused was fit to stand trial or if he had suffered a mental breakdown.
Demuth’s trial date is set for October 27.
