Hanover man gets four years in prison for beating double amputee

A Hanover man was sentenced to four years in federal prison in a Winnipeg provincial courtroom on Monday after he repeatedly beat a double amputee with a nailed two-by-four.

Buddy Merv Octroworch, 34, plead guilty to aggravated assault and failing to comply with his release order.

Steinbach RCMP received a call on Aug. 15 at 4:17 p.m. following an assault on a property 18 kilometres south of Steinbach. Mounties found John Fillmore with puncture wounds and bleeding on the floor, court heard. The 52-year-old is a double amputee below the knee and previously lost all but one finger on his hands due to frostbite.

As officers continued searching buildings on the property, they found Octroworch hiding under blankets inside a trailer, with blood on his hands and clothing.

Police arrested him and put him in the police cruiser. While Octroworch was being transported, he kicked at the doors and windows and undressed himself, screaming until he was placed in a cell. The property owner called police when he received a notification from an installed surveillance camera inside the home and saw Fillmore asking for help.

A roughly 10-minute video, shown in 20 second clips, was played for the court. Crown attorney Jennifer Neufeld said Octroworch kicked in Fillmore’s door in the evening of Aug. 14 and they smoked meth together.

The video shows Fillmore holding a metal pole and gesturing towards Octroworch. Octroworch begins shouting at Fillmore and jumps on top of him, asking where are his ears. Octroworch then stood on Fillmore while he laid on the couch.

He got off Fillmore, grabbed a nailed two-by-four, and hit him seven times in the arms, abdomen and head. One blow lodged a nail in Fillmore’s scalp.

Fillmore is shown cowering on the couch and screams, “I don’t know anything” and “don’t do it, Bud” between blows.

Octroworch paced around Fillmore with the piece of wood, laughing and pointing it at him. Octroworch said “you shall not pass” and then threw the wood at Fillmore, and grabbed it again for another blow.

Once he was done, Octroworch tossed the two-by-four out the window and left, leaving Fillmore injured on the ground for roughly 14 hours until police arrived.

As the video played, provincial court Judge Jerilee Ryle noted Octroworch smiled while watching the clips.

Neufeld said Fillmore suffered a fractured elbow that needed multiple surgeries and two plates, and also required eight staples after the nail was removed from his scalp. Fillmore still doesn’t have full range of motion in his arm and lost mental awareness due to the head trauma, she said. He now has anxiety in public because an acquaintance randomly attacked him, Neufeld noted.

“This is the kind of case that begs for an explanation why he would have done what he had done, when he did,” she said, noting the court could view smoking meth as a possible explanation for the violence.

Neufeld said Fillmore was “very vulnerable,” and his disabilities affected his ability to defend himself and fight back against attacks.

Neufeld recommended a six year sentence, minus the 16 months credited while Octroworch was held in custody.

Defense lawyer Greg Sacks suggested a three-year-and-five -month sentence, with credit for time already served.

He points to meth being the primary cause of the delusions shown in the video.

“Whatever else is going on, it’s very clear from the defense’s standpoint that intoxication and the use of drugs here is a significant factor in explaining what’s going on here,” he told the court.

Federal prison would offer more services and programs to help Octroworch get treated, Sacks said.

When given a chance to speak, Octroworch disputed the evidence shown in the video and the extent of Fillmore’s injuries.

“I’d just like to know how two little bumps on the head would result in eight staples and a gash to the back of his head,” he told the court.

After a brief recess and speaking with his lawyer, Octroworch said he would follow legal advice and apologize.

Ryle opted to issue her own four year sentence, outside of the Crown and defense lawyer’s suggestions. She said the accused had a high level of moral blame in the attack.

“I find the accused engaged in an excessive degree of violence that was prolonged, included the use of the weapon, bouncing on and striking the victim while he was on the ground. The victim was not defending himself,” she said.