commentary by Patrick H. Moore
About a week ago, I expressed how appalled I am by spousal murderers who take the plunge and whack their wives or husbands without having any kind of reasonable alibi in place. I mean, what is the sense of offing the old lady or the old boy if you’re going to be arrested within hours or days and will wind up serving life in prison. It shows a real inability to think things through and a disturbing inattention to detail. Such folks would never graduate to the rarified level of serial killers who, of course, must execute their crimes and escapes with daring and precision, if they are to kill again.
Now, however, a new case out of dear old Vermont is being reported in which the alleged murder attempt was executed with what appears to be a pleasing ingenuity which may or may not ultimately keep the perpetrator out of prison when the dust finally settles. It’s a hard one to read, however, and nothing is certain at this point other than the fact that the “intended victim” jumped.
Sam Hemingway of the Burlington Free Press writes:
Lucas Gingras, 28, of Milton (VT.) is set to be arraigned Wednesday on suspicion of the attempted murder of his girlfriend during what police say was a drug-induced incident last week initially reported as a bear attack.
Gingras will also be charged with domestic assault, reckless endangerment and arson, Detective Cpl. Paul Locke said during an afternoon news conference at the municipal complex in Milton.
“At this point the state’s attorney has reviewed the charges,” Locke said. “Bail was set at $100,000 by a judge tonight and he is currently being lodged at a correctional facility.”
So what exactly did Gingras do to trigger the charges and what’s this about a BEAR ATTACK? Listen my children and you shall hear…
It seems that Gingras, 28, and his older girlfriend, Ladonna Merriman, 42, set up camp at a cabin off of Clay Ridge Road in or near Milton on the morning of June 18th. As is not uncommon for hale and hearty campers, they began drinking sometime after their arrival.
What is more uncommon, however, is what Lucas decided to do to Ladonna at some point during the day. Without her knowing it, Gingras placed some Molly, a potent form of MDMA (Ecstasy), in her drink which she then imbibed. Lucas knowingly ingested some of the Molly himself
Detective Locke suggests the following took place at some point after the couple ingested the drug:
“It was after this that Gingras claimed to have heard something trying to get into the cabin. Not knowing for certain if it was a bear or another animal he set the cabin on fire and both Merriman and him fled out of the cabin.”
He did what? Why burn down the cabin? Was he trying to cook the bear? These are responsible questions that need to be asked and answered.
Detective Locke states that when held for questioning, Lucas told the authorities that “he believes the Molly drug caused him to hallucinate that a bear was in the vicinity of the cabin.”
I’ve never taken “E” or Molly but from what I’ve heard, “E” hallucinations are mild and probably wouldn’t conjure up a savage and attacking bear in your mind. I’m not sure about Molly. We need an expert to chime in here.
Once the cabin was aflame, the couple came to a nearby cliff. Lucas then reportedly told Ladonna that “the bear was coming after her and that she should jump off the cliff into the water below.”
“It was determined that Gingras had not actually seen the bear, but only believed they were being chased,” Locke said.
Thus, Lucas apparently did not actually hallucinate the bear, which implies he observed it visually; rather, he imagined its presence. Such imaginings may well be quite possible in the overheated brainpan of an unstable personality on Molly. On the other hand, all of this may simply be Lucas’s rather clever, if not necessarily believable, alibi.
In any event, Merriman (remember, she’s been dosed) jumped off the cliff and fell almost 70 feet through trees and debris to a grassy surface below. Her injuries are severe and include a broken back, a punctured lung and other miscellaneous problems. She remains hospitalized at Fletcher Allen Health Care and underwent surgery Tuesday to repair her lung.
Detective Locke, who is a veritable fountain of information, said that Ladonna’s version of events largely matches what Lucas described. Locke said Ladonna told the lawmen that Lucas put Molly in her drink “against her wishes.”
“There are variations in their stories but they are similar,” Locke said.
Locke was coy when asked if inducing someone to jump off a cliff in a drug-induced state justifies the attempted-murder charge. As of Tuesday night, a judge had not yet ruled on whether there was sufficient probable cause to support the charges against Lucas. Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan played mum and declined comment on the matter as of Tuesday night.
Like any valiant boyfriend, after Ladonna jumped, Lucas went to rescue her at the bottom of the cliff. He dragged her nearly a mile to a car (not his own vehicle), then left her to go get help, according to Locke.
Lucas returned with a friend who just happened to have a rifle. The friend, perhaps foolishly, left his rifle with Lucas, and went to retrieve Lucas’s car. The boyfriend, allegedly believing the bear was in the trunk of the car, tried to shoot it by firing into the trunk. Hard to miss a large bear at such close range…
To add to his woes, Mr. Alibi may also be hit with a gun charge because he has a criminal record.
The star-crossed lovers have tested positive for alcohol and cocaine. The toxicology report to determine whether they had Molly in their systems is not yet complete.
Sadly, the cabin is burnt to the ground.
Part of the reason the authorities believe it was a murder attempt is because Ladonna, unsurprisingly, had recently tried to break up with Lucas.
Statements from Merriman and friend Steve Underwood, who transported the couple to their Boysenberry Drive home that day, indicate the couple argued the night prior and that Merriman broke up with Gingras a few days before.
“Ladonna advised me she felt Lucas had the entire event ‘set up and planned’ because he thought, ‘If I can’t have her, nobody will,’” Locke wrote.
Milton police have also responded to at least one domestic incident at their home, during which the couple was yelling, and Gingras had a bloody nose. He told the officer he fell, the affidavit recounts.
Given all this, will Lucas get away with his BEAR DEFENSE? We’ll find out.
In the meantime, under no circumstances should you dose your girlfriend (or anyone else) with Molly.