EMDC nurse describes concern for Kargus and George before murder

EMDC nurse saw cause for concern night of murder Nick Paparella was in a London court for testimony at the trial of two guards about the night Adam Kargus was killed by his cellmate.

A former EMDC nurse testified Tuesday saying she had cause for concern the night inmate Adam Kargus was murdered.

Mary Barbe took the stand at the trial of two Elgin-Middlesex Detention guards charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life in his death.

Former operational manager Stephen Jurkus and guard Leslie Lonsbary have both pleaded not guilty.

Barbe told the court she was making rounds and distributing medication just hours before Kargus was beaten to death by his cell mate Anthony George.

She says that standing outside their cell, "As soon as I stopped I could smell alcohol, so I believe I spoke to two people in that cell."

She added, speaking to George, "I said 'You're hammered.' and he didn't say anything and then I asked Adam if he was okay and he said 'yes.'"

Barbe says she didn't like George's demeanour, and mentioned the alcohol to the guards, but wasn't sure how much the accused heard of that conversation.

Also on Tuesday, former EMDC correctional officer Tanya Rose testified, saying she was working on the day Kargus was killed.

Rose said she saw George choking Kargus in the common area of the jail just hours before he was murdered.

But she added, "[Kargus] didn’t look overly distressed or anything.”

Earlier in the trial the jury heard from another former jail guard, Greg Langford, who described the incident as horseplay.

Langford completed his testimony Monday, telling the jury that George, Kargus's cellmate and the man convicted of second-degree murder in his death, was a 'heavy.'

In other words, he was someone who other inmates did not want to upset, for fear of physical violence.

On Friday, Langford, a key witness for the Crown, testified under cross-examination that correctional officers only received a week of training before being put on duty with the inmates.

Kargus, 29, was killed in his cell in Oct. 2013 and George pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2017.