Alleged EMDC beating prompts lawyer to request transfer for a Raymond Beaver murder-suspect

After his client was allegedly beaten by fellow inmates at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre, the lawyer for a man charged with first-degree murder is asking for his client to be moved to another institution.

Peter Towsend looked “like he’d been in a fight, and lost,” said defence lawyer Gord Cudmore.

The 20-year-old made his first in-court appearance in London Tuesday morning, less than a week after he and six others were charged with break and enter after Raymond Beaver’s stabbing death on Oct 2nd. On Friday, London Police added charges of first-degree murder against Townsend, and three other people.

Cudmore says his client was taken to hospital and treated for cracked ribs and facial injuries.

“I don’t need to tell you the reputation that EMDC has, it’s not the safest of our institutions, and I want to make sure that he’s safe.”

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It’s up to Corrections Canada to make the call, Cudmore explained. He’s unsure whether his client will be sent back to EMDC while jail authorities make their decision.

As for the court appearance, Cudmore said his client’s case was put over until next Wednesday for disclosure.

Townsend, Daniel Cavanagh, 32, Melissa George, 34, Nicholas George, 18, all face charges of first-degree murder in connection with Beaver’s death.

The 43-year-old man was stabbed in what his family calls a home invasion at their house on Lansdowne Avenue between Nelson Street and Trafalgar Street last Monday night.

Police responded to the call around 11:30 p.m. Beaver was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. His 47-year-old uncle, George Janes, sustained non-life threatening injuries but was later released from hospital.

Family friends are remembering Beaver for his “heart of gold.”

“He was just a devoted father, he became a grandfather recently. Just seeing children around him and what not, it just brought the love out in his eyes and out in his heart,” said close friend, Michele Lupa.

“He was just an all-around genuine person that would be willing to give the shirt off his back to anybody, or give them a safe haven to rest their heads for a night or whatever. He was a good guy.”

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