The legal fate of a 95-year-old decorated war veteran accused of murdering his 85-year-old roommate in a special-care unit for patients with dementia will hinge on his mental state, the Crown says.
Neil MacKenzie, a spokesman for the Crown, said prosecutors are awaiting further information to help them decide how to proceed with the case of John Furman, a former member of an elite Second World War brigade who is accused of second-degree murder in the death of his unidentified roommate at the care unit in Vernon, B.C.
Jonathan Avis, acting for the defence, said he doubts Mr. Furman will ever be found criminally responsible for what happened, given his medical condition. He said in an interview that Mr. Furman is in advanced stages of dementia linked to Alzheimer's, which would make the argument for a finding of not criminally responsible if the case is prosecuted.
Meanwhile, the curator of the Greater Vernon Museum and Archives, who said he knows Mr. Furman as an affable, cheery visitor, said he is shocked and saddened by the allegations. "It's tragic for someone who served his country, who led a very productive life," Ron Candy said. "I hope it doesn't take away from the man he is. I know dementia can sometimes be a disease that takes people to places they normally wouldn't be."
During a court hearing on Wednesday in the Okanagan community of Vernon, about 440 kilometres east of Vancouver, Mr. Furman's case was put over to Sept. 25.
The unidentified victim was a long-time resident of Polson Special Care, a 26-bed secure facility adjacent to Vernon Jubilee Hospital. Mr. Furman was a more recent arrival to the unit, which focuses on patients whose dementia is complicated by behavioural or psychiatric issues.
The RCMP were called to the unit about 11 p.m on Sunday because of a reported assault. When they arrived, they determined that they were dealing with a homicide.
Mr. Furman, awarded a Bronze Star by the U.S. Army for his service with an elite unit called the Devil's Brigade, is now being held at a medical facility that Mr. MacKenzie said will provide adequate security.
In Vernon, presiding Crown counsel Howard Pontious was more blunt about the case, reportedly telling journalists after the hearing that it may become unnecessary to pursue a murder charge if the matter is being dealt with adequately in the mental-health system.
"Unlike most murder cases, we're not looking at punishment or retribution in this matter," Mr. Pontius said, according to a report in the Vernon Morning Star.
Born in Calgary, Mr. Furman enlisted in the army in 1942 and eventually volunteered for an American-Canadian unit called the First Special Service Force or the Devil's Brigade, according to a history prepared by the Greater Vernon Museum and Archives.
He served in the Aleutians, Italy and France. At one point, Mr. Furman took machine-gun fire to the neck and chest, but he recovered and was discharged in 1946. In 1971, he moved to Vernon with his wife.
Mr. Furman later described joining the unit as "the best move I ever made in my life" because of the camaraderie with his fellow soldiers. "It was all a new experience," he told the Memory Project, an effort to record the stories of veterans launched by the Historica-Dominion Institute with federal funding. Of combat, he said it was "a miracle and bloody crazy if you ask me."
Mr. Candy said Mr. Furman's wife is deceased, and he had no children or other family. In the past, he had been a tool salesman and ran a motel in the Hope area.
He said Mr. Furman occasionally dropped by the museum, where his medals were on display. "When he came in, he had a joke to tell and he was just a pleasure to be around," Mr. Candy said. "It was like, 'Here comes Jack.' You wanted to go talk to him."
Ian Bailey