An Edmonton landlord, beaten into a vegetative state 16 years ago in an attack that outraged people across Canada, has died.
Dougald Miller’s wife, Lesley, told Global News that her husband died late Saturday night. She said he had been suffering from internal bleeding and had a fever and pneumonia at the time.
Lesley was by his side when he died.
“I talked to him until the end. It was his time to go,” she said as she choked back tears.
In 2002, Leo Teskey was first convicted of aggravated assault in connection with the attack on Miller. He was sentenced as a dangerous offender but the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial.
READ MORE: Teskey declared a dangerous offender
The attack on Miller saw Teskey crush his skull, break his jaw and tear off a part of his ear. Dougald was in his late 50s at the time of the attack and has been cared for by his wife ever since.
Teskey had already been convicted of dozens of offences and was again deemed a dangerous offender in 2010.
READ MORE: Edmonton criminal Leo Teskey remains a dangerous offender
In 2014, Alberta’s Court of Appeal dismissed Teskey’s bid to remove his dangerous offender status.
Lesley told Global News that she wants people to remember her husband for who he was.
“Never forget what a good, kind man he was. He didn’t deserve what happened to him,” she said.
Miller was 77 years old. There is no word on funeral arrangements.
-with files from Emily Mertz and The Canadian Press