The man charged in the beating death of a London cab driver is in hospital and is slated for heart surgery.

Cody Perkin, 23, made a brief audio appearance Tuesday in the Ontario Court of Justice from his hospital room at the London Health Sciences Centre.

He waived the reading of his three charges, including second-degree murder in the beating death of Vijay Bhatia, 64.

Police said the London cab driver was pulled from his cab early Saturday and beaten in the parking lot of the Mac's convenience store at 925 Wonderland Rd. South.

Perkin spoke privately on the phone with his defence lawyer James Zegers after giving his name and birth date. After a lengthy private conversation, Zegers advised justice of the peace Robert Seneshen that Perkin has "serious health problems" and was taken to the emergency room after his arrest on the weekend.

Perkin is scheduled for "open heart surgery" to have one of his valves repaired, Zegers said. Perkin has a surgical consultation or possibly the operation on May 15.

That scheduling may change now that he is in police custody, he said.

The issue came up after the Crown had a list of possible witnesses who Perkin was ordered not to communicate with.

One of them was Perkin's mother, Joanne. Zegers asked she not be included because of Perkin's health issues.

"She is his mother and he does have serious health concerns that threaten his life," he said.

Assistant Crown attorney Dave Nicol said Perkin's mother is "an important witness" who came to the crime scene and has spoken to the police. He also mentioned her being there for "a partial confession."

Seneshen said he wants the issue to be brought back to the court for re-evaluation and arguments before making a decision to take Perkin's mother off the list. For now, he can't contact her.

That argument could happen May 17 at Perkin's next video appearance and after he possibly meets with his doctors.

More later at lfpress.com

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