Accused killer injured in assault at remand centre
A man charged with murder in the death of Calgary father Ryan Lane told his lawyer he suffered a jailhouse beating earlier this week.
Timothy Mark Rempel is at the Calgary Remand Centre awaiting a court appearance next week.
His lawyer, Allan Fay, said Friday the 27-year-old recently incurred minor injuries after being attacked by fellow inmates.
No charges have been laid, according to Fay, who said his client is afraid of “making waves.”
“As long as he’s in the remand centre, he runs the risk that — if he points fingers or names (the) people who beat him — he’s now labelled a rat and he’s a target,” Fay said in an interview.
Fay also raised concerns that the 700-bed facility is overcrowded and understaffed to provide adequate security, adding he’d now like to see Rempel released on bail.
It’s the latest assault at the remand centre to draw headlines in recent times.
In August, Russian student Denis Telyakov suffered brain injuries when attackers jumped on his head. Admitted cancer fraudster Kristopher Cook was unable to make his first court appearance the next month following a severe beating.
However, Alberta Justice spokeswoman Michelle Davio said only four inmates were sent to hospital after being assaulted, out of 8,000 admissions last year.
Davio acknowledged the remand centre runs at, or near, capacity every day, but said correctional staff are “doing pretty well due to the numbers and the conditions.”
She declined to comment on any specific case, but added internal investigations are done routinely.
Rempel was arrested in November, along with his wife, Sheena Cuthill, and his brother, Wilhelm.
Earlier that month, authorities discovered Lane’s skeletal remains in a 5,200-hectare field near the suspects’ former home.
The 24-year-old father had been missing for nearly nine months.
Investigators believe he was lured to a northeast address, kidnapped and killed within 24 hours.
The cause of death has not been released.
Police said the motive for the crime was a custody disagreement involving Lane’s daughter