After two years on the run and months in the court system, Oxford resident Patrick Andrew LaFleur, 31, has been found by an Oakland County Circuit Court jury to be guilty of attacking and maiming an Oakland Township woman, including biting off her ear.
“We got exactly what we figured would come back,” said Oakland County Sheriff’s Detective Greg Glover, who has been working on the case against LaFleur for more than two years. “We knew what to expect.”
The jury, composed of seven women and five men, brought back guilty verdicts on five counts: mayhem; felonious assault, or assault with a deadly weapon; aggravated stalking; and assault with the intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. The final count was charged in court by the prosecution as attempted murder, but the jury came back with the lesser verdict.
“The attempted murder is very hard to prove,” explained Glover.
Oakland County Prosecutor Barb Morrison was able to prove to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that LaFleur attacked the Oakland Township woman in an assault which lasted more than five hours.
“(The victim) is a human being, and that man had no right to do what he did to her,” said Morrison in her closing arguments.
According to testimony provided by the victim, LaFleur punched and kicked her repeatedly around the head and upper body, threatened her with a knife, bit off her ear and spit it at her, tried to get her to commit suicide, attempted to drown her and tried to gouge out her eyes. After the extensive attack which left bloody water and clumps of air in two bath tubs, he then took her to her red SUV and told her that they were driving to a remote location in Canada where he would kill her.
Testimony from the woman revealed that the two drove in the vehicle for some time until LaFleur tried to get money from an automated teller machine for gas. When he was unable to get money, the victim said she convinced LaFleur to go back to her home and get the money she had there. Once LaFleur left the vehicle to go in the house, the victim said she was able to escape and run to a neighbor’s home.
Several emergency personnel testified that upon arriving at the scene, they found the victim huddled in the fetal position by a dresser in the neighbor’s home. Their testimony also showed that the woman had been beaten severely and was covered in blood.
Since that night in June, the victim has undergone several surgeries, changed addresses, and purchased a gun and guard dog for her home. The victim said she has lived in continuous fear for herself and her family, but knew she had to carry through with this case.
“I was scared for myself, but I was more scared for other people,” she said after the trial. “I couldn’t live with the thought of somebody else not knowing how dangerous he was and ending up even worse than I did.”
“I just couldn’t live that way. Thanks to Detective Glover and the other officers, I’m feeling more secure now and I know others are safe.”
Later in the trial, LaFleur took the stand in his own defense. According to his testimony, LaFleur states he had been arguing with the victim most of the day and was arguing with her that evening.
“She was angry because she blamed me for (her son) leaving,” said LaFleur. “She was blaming me because I wouldn’t go in on a house with her in Lapeer.”
The defendant claimed the situation turned violent when the Oakland Township woman came after him with a knife repeatedly. He said that at this point “I lost it. I just started hitting her.” However, LaFleur stated that he never attempted to drown her, gouge out her eyes, threaten her with a knife or take her anywhere against her will. He also stated that biting her ear off was an accident, and that he put the piece of ear on ice in case doctors could re-attach it. In fact, he claimed that when the two left in her SUV, he was trying to take her to Crittenton Hospital.
“She looked terrible,” he testified. “She didn’t look human.”
LaFleur said he ran after the incident and went into hiding for two years in Texas because he knew the system would never get him justice.
After LaFleur’s testimony, Judge Steven Andrews ruled to allow the defense to bring in witnesses not directly related to the events in question. Prosecutor Morrison called on a young woman who testified that LaFleur had stalked her in 1996. The woman stated that LaFleur called her more than 50 times a day, and began calling her family, friends and co-workers. She also stated that he threatened to kidnap her, harm her, and kill her boyfriend and different members of her family. The young woman admitted to filing police reports against him.
“Sometimes he would honeymoon and romance me,” she testified, “other times he would have these violent bursts of rage.”
During cross examination, the woman stated that “yes, he did hurt me” and she did file the police reports at that time.
In their closing arguments, both sides attempted to portray the other as the liar in this case. Morrison went through the five counts listing all of the testimony supporting each charge, and giving the jury the “tools to establish guilt.”
“Does any human being… deserve this?” she asked the jury while showing pictures of the victim from that night.
LaFleur’s attorney Jeffrey Quas listed the motives and evidence available that the victim was twisting the truth. He argued that ultimately the charges do not fit the crimes.
“You must not let sympathy or prejudice affect your decision,” he told jurors.
In the end, the jury returned with a guilty verdict after four and a half hours of deliberation.
Judge Andrews set a sentencing date of August 26 at 8:30 a.m. Of the five counts, the kidnapping charge carries a maximum of a life sentence, the maiming and assault each carry a maximum of 10 years or $5,000, and the felonious assault carries a maximum of four years or $2,000.