A Prince George man who lured a woman into his home with the intent of murdering her had been struggling for some time with an overwhelming urge to kill someone, the court heard Friday.
Robyn Glenn Derksen told police he had a "demon in him that came out when he was drunk," and had been looking for a victim for as much as two years, according to details read into the record during a hearing at the courthouse.
Following a preliminary inquiry, Derksen pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder in relation to the Oct. 4, 2015 incident that ended when the woman managed to escape from the home.
He had lured her to his home after coming across her at a convenience store at Queensway and 20th.
She had arranged to meet someone to get some painkillers for her back. The person did not show, but she encountered Derksen who told her he could help and she went with him to the house.
They entered through the back door after passing through an extremely-high fence and once inside, Derksen put a metal bar across the door. The woman went upstairs to sit and, according to her version of what happened, he offered her a drink.
She turned down the offer saying she doesn't drink and just wanted the painkillers. It was at that point that Derksen said he was going to kill her. Incredulous, the woman said "you've got to be kidding," to which he replied, "I'm not joking at all."
The woman told police Derksen then picked up a carving knife, held it to her throat and said words to the effect of "does this look like I am kidding?"
Terrified, the woman promised Derksen she would not tell anyone if he let her go. Derksen refused and, according to the woman, said he was going to torture her and it was going to be severely painful.
After a few moments, he went to get a glass and when he did, she bolted for the back door. But Derksen grabbed her by the hair and coat before she could escape and dragged her back to the chair.
Carving knife still in hand, he told her again he was going to torture and kill her. He took off his glasses, put his face close to hers, told her to look into his eyes and tell him what she saw.
When she said she didn't know, he said "the devil."
Derksen continued with the threats until she asked to go to the bathroom where she hoped to find a window to escape the home. Holding onto her hair and coat, he marched her to the spot. On the way, she remembered her cellphone was in her coat and once inside the bathroom twice tried to dial 911. But because she was so shaken with fear, she accidentally dialed 611 and there was no answer.
Derksen banged on the door and asked what was taking so long. In time, she left the bathroom and, as she went along the hallway with him saw the front door for the first time. It too had a bar across it.
When the woman told Derksen she had called 911, he seemed unconcerned and continued to talk about torturing and killing her. When she told him she would like that drink now, he said it had better be a big one because it will be the last she will ever have.
The bar across the back door had become dislodged during her first attempt to escape and when Derksen went to put it back in place, she ran for the front door where she managed to get that bar off enough to squeeze through and escape despite his effort to stop her.
Shaken and feeling foolish for getting herself into the situation, she waited until the next day to contact police. Her report in hand, RCMP showed up at Derksen's home where he told them the woman was a crack addict who had freaked out. He let the officers inside where they made note of the bars across the doors, which seemed unusual even for such a high-crime area of the city.
The next day, Derksen went to the detachment and gave a partial confession. He admitted he said he told her he was going to kill her as a way to scare her.
But Derksen went on to say he didn't trust himself and had a hard time "stopping the demon inside me." And while happy she escaped, Derksen said he tried to hunt her down again and if he had found her, would probably have dragged her back to his home.
The woman told police Derksen appeared sober but he told officers he had been on a bender for four days when he committed the act and that alcohol turned him into a Mr. Hyde.
At his request, Derksen was taken to the psychiatric ward at University Hospital of Northern B.C. where he spent four days. Upon his release, Derksen was arrested and charged with four counts, including attempted murder, and remained in custody for about three months. He was then released to a residential treatment centre where he has remained ever since.
Derksen had told police he had been looking for a victim to murder for months and later told mental health professionals it had been for about two years. He also said he had been walking around with a box knife and supposed he would have used it on his victim, which could either a man or a woman but not a child, he stressed.
"I think I'm a threat," he told police.
It was noted that Derksen walked into the RCMP detachment on his own and told police he had come in to pay his penalty and give the woman some relief. Derksen also disputes the allegations he put a knife to her throat and told the woman he was going to torture her.
Crown is seeking a lengthy but, as yet, unspecified term in a federal prison for Derksen. Sentencing will be carried out once a pre-sentenced report has been completed.
In the interim, a bail hearing will also be held to decide whether Derksen should be put back in custody. Derksen had lived up to the conditions of his current bail ever since his release, the court was told Friday.
