A Vermont man will be arraigned on an attempted murder charge after he allegedly got his girlfriend to jump off of a cliff during a camping trip because of a “bear attack.”
According to investigators, there was no bear. Both campers, however, were allegedly high on molly, a drug similar to ecstasy, and hallucinating.
Lucas Gingras initially reported the incident as a bear attack. The 28-year-old will also be charged with domestic assault, reckless endangerment and arson.
During the incident, Gingras is accused of putting the drug in the drink of his 44-year-old girlfriend, Ladonna Merriman, without her knowledge. They were staying at a cabin at the time.
“Gingras claims he was suffering from the hallucinogenic effects that caused him to see what he thought was a bear,” Detective Corporal Paul Locke said. “He set the cabin on fire to make an escape from the cabin.”
Merriman was skeptical about the bear, but when Gingras told her to jump off a nearby cliff to escape the bear, she did, and fell about 60 feet.
The suspect did go to get help for Merriman, but she sustained a broken back and ribs as well as a punctured lung.
The cabin burned to the ground.
