EDMONTON- An 86-year-old man remains in hospital Thursday, after allegedly being attacked while working in his northeast Edmonton yard earlier this week.
“He’s talkative. He isn’t moving around there yet, he’s still in emergency,” said Mike Madarsh’s son Darrell, who is in Edmonton from Bon Accord where he lives. “I saw him yesterday and his spirits were up a little bit there, but he’s still in quite a bit of pain.”
Mike was taken to hospital Tuesday, after his neighbour found him laying on the lawn bleeding, after allegedly being attacked by three men; an 18-year-old and 17-year-old have since been charged.
“We heard a commotion in the back, my wife alerted me to it… and kind of wondered what the heck it was,” explained Pat Knight, who lives next door. “As soon as I heard Mike’s voice I said ‘Mike’s in trouble.'”
Pat says he ran next door and saw Mike on the ground.
“As I got closer I saw blood, I thought ‘oh man he’s fallen down,'” Pat said Thursday morning. “I said ‘Mike, what happened? What did you do?’ he said ‘I was attacked, they got my wallet.'”
“He just told me he was out doing some work there and some guys approached him and told him to ’empty your pockets’ and that was the last thing. He says he got hit and he flew,” Darrell added.
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Darrell says the men got away with Mike’s wallet and a few small items from the garage.
Police believe a blunt object was used in the attack, but it isn’t clear what type of object.
“It was possibly a cleaver, but very early investigation right now. All we can tell you was that it was a blunt object and our victim was struck by it,” Inspector Joel Whittaker said Tuesday.
“He (Mike) had multiple head wounds and broken nose and broken blood vessels in his eyes, he can barely see,” Darrell explained.
The alleged attack has shaken the entire Beacon Heights neighbourhood. Those who live in the area can’t believe something like this would happen in the normally quiet neighbourhood.
“My mom is shaken up. I think she’s worried about everything that happened here. I think they don’t feel safe here any more,” Darrell expressed with concern.
He isn’t sure when his dad will be released from hospital or if his injuries will leave any permanent damage, but says he’ll likely need rehabilitation to get his mobility back.
Both Darrell and Pat say they can’t believe something like this happened and hope those responsible are dealt with.
“This is a totally despicable act. These are no more than hyenas on two legs. They’re going after the weak,” he said. “They’re preying obviously on somebody who can’t defend themselves and it’s totally despicable.”
“I can’t believe someone would touch an old man like that. He’s just out doing his own business,” Darrell added. “I hope those guys that did it get dealt with the proper way and they should pay for their crimes. There should be no ifs, ands, or buts about what they did.”
On Wednesday, EPS charged 18-year-old David Williams and a 17-year-old, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, with numerous charges including robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public.
Williams is facing an additional charge of assaulting a peace officer.
With files from Laurel Clark, Global News.
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