A 28-year-old Sylvan Lake man, Patrick Alexander Freeman, charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father earlier this summer, appeared in Rimbey provincial court Friday via closed circuit TV.
Patrick Freeman, now in custody in the Red Deer Remand Centre, was ordered by Judge W.A. Skinner to return to Rimbey court Sept. 6 and is to remain in custody until that time. Skinner said a trial date or plea would then be set.
The Rimbey courtroom was filled Friday morning, but emptied quickly after Freeman’s appearance.
The appearance of the accused was delayed for several minutes when a different prisoner showed up on the screen and was delayed further when there was trouble with the audio.
When Freeman did appear, he seemed poised and politely replied “thank you,” to the judge when the third court appearance was ordered.
Joel McClarty appeared in Rimbey court on behalf of Alain Hepner, the lawyer for the accused.
Freeman made his first appearance in Red Deer Provincial court last month and was ordered to return to Rimbey court on Aug. 2.
Rimbey RCMP responded to a call to a rural area in Lacombe County about 4 p.m. on Monday, June 24 when Freeman’s 61-year-old father was found with “significant” injuries. Alberta Health Services said he was taken to the hospital in Rimbey in critical condition. He was later flown by STARS air ambulance to Calgary’s Foothills Medical Centre where he succumbed to his injuries.
The Freeman family is from the Bentley area.