The son of a former Edmonton police chief has had his appeal of a murder conviction dismissed.
In May 2016, Mark Lindsay was convicted of second-degree murder in a Red Deer courtroom in the 2011 death of Dana Turner. Lindsay was also convicted of obstruction of justice.
Lindsay, who is the son of former Edmonton Police Chief John Lindsay, had pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder charge but his defence argued he shouldn’t be held criminally responsible for the killing because he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Lindsay admitted he killed Turner because he believed she was part of a group of supernatural serial killers.
READ MORE: Former Edmonton police chief’s son Mark Lindsay files appeal after murder conviction
The defence argued Lindsay was able to appreciate the “nature and quality of his actions” but was not “capable of knowing his actions were wrong.” But the judge found the defence was lacking, stating that Lindsay “did not suffer from a disease of the mind. He knew his actions were morally wrong.”
Lindsay admitted to stabbing Turner, 31, in both eyes with a pencil while the two were in a vehicle in August 2011, then strangling her with his shoelaces and dragging her out of the vehicle before driving over her twice.
He then put Turner’s body in the trunk of the vehicle, bought a sleeping bag and shovel and buried her remains near Innisfail.
Turner’s body was found in a ditch two months after she was reported missing.
Turner was reportedly Lindsay’s ex-girlfriend. The pair allegedly met at Alberta Hospital, where both were patients at one point.
Lindsay’s appeal argued the judge erred in rejecting his defence of not being criminally responsible for Turner’s death. Lindsay’s appeal stated the judge erred in his assessment of the expert opinion evidence by “erroneously discounting the opinions of the defence experts and failing to hold the Crown’s expert to a similar standard.”
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After reviewing arguments, the Alberta Court of Appeal found the trial judge did not err in rejecting Lindsay’s defence.
“His findings were available and reasonable on the evidentiary record before him. In the absence of palpable and overriding error, which is not present in this case, the trial judge’s analysis is entitled to deference,” read the memorandum of judgment.
With files from The Canadian Press.
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