WESTLOCK - The Supreme Court of Canada may decide once and for all the fate of Peter Ernest Edward Beckett, the former New Zealand city councillor who’s accused of the 2010 murder of his wife, Dapp-area native Laura Letts-Beckett.
Beckett has stood trial twice for murder in connection with the death of Letts-Beckett, who drowned Aug. 18, 2010 in Upper Arrow Lake, B.C. The first trial in Kamloops in 2016 ended with a hung jury after jurors remained deadlocked following more than a week of deliberation. The second trial in Kelowna, which ran from August to September 2017, resulted in a first-degree murder conviction by a B.C. Supreme Court jury where he was sentenced to 25 years behind bars without a chance of parole. Beckett was arrested and charged with murder in 2011 and has been behind bars ever since.
The 2017 conviction was recently overturned on a number of grounds — a three-judge B.C. Court of Appeal panel ruled in favour of Beckett’s appeal in September, calling the Crown’s case weak and suggested that prosecutors avoid a third trial.
“In these circumstances, a very real question arises as to whether it is in the interests of justice to proceed with yet a third trial,” B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Laurie Ann Fenlon wrote on behalf of the panel. “That decision, however, ultimately lies with the Crown.”
On Nov. 30, prosecutors made public their intention to appeal Beckett’s overturned conviction to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In a Nov. 30 story published by the Vancouver Sun, Beckett’s defence lawyer Marilyn Sanford said she was “surprised” to hear the Crown was seeking leave to appeal to Canada’s highest court — twice during Beckett’s second trial she had sought a mistrial. In that same interview, Sanford said Beckett will apply for bail as soon as possible as lawyers are expected to meet early next week to set a date for a bail hearing.
“We had been deferring applying for bail in hopes that this sad saga would come to an end today,” she told the Sun. “We’re very surprised to hear that the (Crown counsel) appeals department — notwithstanding that there were several grounds of appeal the court found meritorious — has chosen to seek leave, which is, of course, their right.”
The Crown will file an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, then Beckett will file a response. After that, the high court will determine whether to hear the appeal. If it does not, the matter will return to B.C. Supreme Court and prosecutors will decide whether to run a third trial.
The background
Beckett, who had served previously as a Napier city councillor, met Letts-Beckett, a teacher at Dapp School, on a guided tour of New Zealand in 1995. He moved to Westlock a few years after where the couple were married.
On the evening of her death she and Beckett were riding in their Zodiac raft on Upper Arrow Lake. Letts-Beckett, who was not a strong swimmer, drowned in the lake and no one witnessed the incident.
Through both trials, prosecutors said Beckett killed his wife out of greed, hoping to cash in on life insurance payouts and her pension.
Beckett has steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout, claiming Letts-Beckett fell or jumped off the boat and drowned.
During his first trial in Kamloops where he represented himself, Beckett performed a Maori war dance in the courtroom, while on another occasion his pants fell down as he stood up when the jury left the room.
Beckett also took the stand in his own defence during that trial, becoming involved in heated verbal confrontations with Crown prosecutor Joel Gold. In Kelowna, Beckett did not testify.
