The man accused in a deadly stabbing at the Edmonton Corn Maze said leading up to the attack two years ago, he’d had thoughts of killing his group home roommate over his Nazi ideologies.
Michael George Ferzli, 43, is on trial for second-degree murder in the Aug. 27, 2024 death of 53-year-old Joseph Farnsworth.
Ferzli is seeking for Court of King’s Bench Justice Bob Aloneissi to find him not criminally responsible (NCR) due to having schizophrenia.
The serious mental health condition affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, often causing a loss of touch with reality.
In 2024, Ferzli and Farnsworth had both been living at the same supervised group home for mental health patients.
Court heard the two got along initially, but tension developed between the two as Farnsworth tried to recruit Forzli, a devout Christian, to join a neo-Nazi gang.
RCMP officers running into the Edmonton Corn Maze on Aug. 27, 2024, where Michael Ferzli stabbed Joseph Farnsworth to death.
Supplied by the Alberta law courts
There was dramatic testimony from Ferzli on Day 2 of a hearing, when he said he was agitated by Farnsworth’s demeanour.
“He thought I was ready to join his Aryan race gang,” Ferzli said he told a nurse on his treatment team.
“It’s hard for me to play nice in the sandbox with Joe,” he said, referring to Farnsworth.
They were on a scheduled outing to the maze in Parkland County with other members of the home when the attack occurred.
Ferzli, who has anxiety in addition to schizophrenia, told the court before arriving at the maze, he was thinking about the story of Cain and Abel in the biblical Book of Genesis. It’s the account of Adam and Eve’s first two sons and the world’s first murder.
“Cain and Abel… two went in and one came out… just some delusional thoughts I had,” Ferzli said on Tuesday, adding he has been thinking about killing Farnsworth that summer.
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Dramatic footage from RCMP body cameras was played in court on Monday, showing the first officers arriving at the scene moments after the killing.
An RCMP officer finds Michael Ferzli laying with a deceased Joseph Farnsworth at the Edmonton Corn Maze on Aug. 27, 2024.
Supplied by the Alberta law courts
Ferzli was seen laying on top of Farnsworth, who was motionless with a knife lodged in his neck and covered in blood after being stabbed to death. Ferzli’s hands and arms were also covered in blood.
On the stand Tuesday, Ferzli admitted to getting a knife from his vehicle before residents of the group home went on the corn maze outing.
“When the opportunity presented itself, I pulled out the knife. I jumped on him from behind,” he said, adding he told Farnsworth during the attack “I’m killing 666, you’re the demon and you’re a Nazi.”
“I thought I was doing God’s will — I thought I was someone special.”
An RCMP officer finds Michael Ferzli laying with a deceased Joseph Farnsworth at the Edmonton Corn Maze on Aug. 27, 2024.
Supplied by the Alberta law courts
During cross-examination by the prosecution, Ferzli admitted he didn’t share his thoughts or concerns about Farnsworth with his treatment team before the killing, and acknowledged he knew he was under a weapons ban.
“You knew you weren’t supposed to have it — the knife — right?” Crown prosecutor Wendy Ekert questioned.
Ferzli answered “right” — the same answer he gave when asked if he was having delusional thinking leading up to the killing.
Ferzli has two prior not-criminally-responsible findings involving violent incidents between 2008 and 2019.
Canadian law allows a person to be deemed not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder, if it’s determined they are unable to understand their actions.
Those found NCR are usually then confined to a psychiatric hospital and any reintegration to the community is governed by a provincial review board.
Court heard that Ferzli was was diagnosed with schizophrenia at Alberta Hospital, where he was ordered to be admitted in October of 2023 after being found NCR.
Criminal Code Review Board documents from 2023 noted Ferzli is aware of his mental illness and takes medications but added his “mental state is very fragile.”
The review board deemed Ferzli “a significant threat to the safety of the public” and his treatment team believed he required close supervision and monitoring.
After being released from the Edmonton psychiatric hospital in early 2024 — a place Ferzli told the court he didn’t want to go back to — he moved to the Edmonton group home and met with his psychiatrist on a regular basis between February and August.
Ferzli’s psychiatrist took the stand on Monday.
“I think the actual physical task of living in the community, he found a little bit challenging when he first came out of hospital,” Dr. Oghogho Manuwa told the court on Monday. “He was functioning, he was going to work.”
Ferzli became more and more agitated by Farnsworth’s profane language, along with racist and anti-semitic remarks, Manuwa testified.
“In June, his anxiety became quite overwhelming for him — the anxiety fluctuated.”
Dr. Manuwa testified that he visited Ferzli at the Edmonton Remand Centre after his arrest and described him as “quite a bit remorseful.”
During Monday’s hearing, Forzli sat in the prisoner’s box and appeared to be listening intently to the proceedings.
The NCR hearing continues Thursday and is expected to wrap up early next week.
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