(rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By Sheldon Spackman and Troy Gillard

First appearance

“I am sick and need a doctor,” suspect in Red Deer physician’s murder tells court

Aug 12, 2020 | 12:19 PM

A man accused of killing a family doctor Monday in Red Deer made his first court appearance today.

Deng Mabiour of Red Deer is charged with the first-degree murder of Dr. Walter Reynolds, a 45-year-old father of two.

The 54-year-old suspect is also charged with assault with a weapon and assaulting a police officer.

“I tell you, I didn’t remember anything,” said Mabiour, who appeared via CCTV from the Red Deer Remand Centre. “I am sick and need a doctor.”

Mabiour spoke with a thick accent that made it difficult for him to be understood at times.

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After being given time to speak with duty counsel to ensure he understood the charges against him, Mabiour was still unable to acknowledge that he did. After the charges were read to him a second time Judge Bert Skinner then ordered that the information be sent to him in written form, along with instructions for seeking legal aid.

Mabiour is due back in court on Sept. 9.

RCMP say Monday’s fatal attack was not random and Mabiour and Reynolds knew each other through the clinic.

“In 27 years of policing I’ve never seen a doctor attacked like that,” RCMP Supt. Gerald Grobmeier said Tuesday.

A photo circulating on Facebook shows Deng Mabiour being arrested shortly after Dr. Walter Reynolds was fatally attacked on Monday.

RCMP received a 911 call Monday reporting an assault in progress at the Village Mall Walk-in Clinic just after 11 a.m. Mounties arrived within minutes.

Reynolds was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Grobmeier would not say what weapons were used in the slaying, but a witness told media outlets that a man had a machete and hammer.

Mabiour was arrested at the scene.

Grobmeier said on Tuesday that he could provide no details on whether mental illness or intoxication were factors. He said Mabiour was not previously known to police.

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