Man who brutally beat, raped woman faces dangerous offender trial

The man who savagely beat and sexually assaulted a young woman in Banff this summer says he doesn't expect to survive prison.

Albert George Muckle, in court Thursday as part of the Crown's efforts to have him declared a dangerous offender, says he's been placed in jail with rival gang members and alleges that he was beaten.

"Look at my face," the 25-year-old told Court of Queen's Bench Justice Sandra Hamilton, one of a number of instances where he interrupted the proceedings.

Muckle says he has owned up to everything he's done wrong and just wants the case to reach a swift conclusion.

Muckle who has refused to be represented by a lawyer has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault in the attack, which left a 20-year-old woman in a coma. The woman, who has returned to her family in Ottawa to be cared for, is not expected to recover.

Police said the woman, who worked in a Banff hotel, was strangled and left unconscious and partially clothed in a park near the Bow River in Banff on July 11.

Thursday, Crown Patricia Yelle asked for more time to sift through boxes of documents shipped from Ontario, where Muckle spent his youth. Yelle said they are also waiting for other documents, some of which require search warrants.

But Muckle said he would sign anything to allow access to the documents, and claims that he's been told by psychiatrists in the past that the information in them isn't enough to have him declared a dangerous offender.

Hamilton told Muckle he needs to have a lawyer for the dangerous offender hearing. She said she will recommend legal aid appoint him counsel to handle his defence of the dangerous offender application and to deal with his safety concerns.

Muckle's next court appearance is in December. He also is required to undergo a 60-day psychiatric evaluation.