The arrest and first-degree murder charge against a Westlock man has made headlines all the way on the other side of the globe.
News of Peter Beckett’s arrest has reached his home country of New Zealand, where it has inspired interest because of his short-lived career as a municipal councillor.
Beckett, 54, served as a city councillor in Napier, New Zealand from 1998 to 2001, Hawke’s Bay Today reported Saturday.
According to that story, other councillors described him as “odd” and a “loner.” Current mayor Barbara Arnott was on the city council at the same time as Beckett.
“He was a one-term councillor, which clearly for the city and himself was enough,” she is quoted as saying.
The article also indicates Beckett has four children with his ex-wife in New Zealand, who is aware of the charges but declined to comment.
In a series of highlights of Beckett’s career, the authors of the article indicate that the 1998 election was hotly contested, and that he won by a margin of 98 votes. His “sophisticated” campaign is said to have featured “caricatures mocking election opponents,” and claims he could expose corruption within city administration.
Beckett was arrested Aug. 12 following a year-long investigation into the death of his wife Laura Lett Becket, a former Dapp school teacher, who drowned Aug. 18, 2010.
At the time of her death, RCMP said the two were on a boat near Shelter Bay Provincial Park when Letts Beckett fell in the water. She was not wearing a life jacket and could not swim.
Beckett has made two appearances in B.C. Provincial Court, but has not yet entered a plea. He is scheduled to make his next court appearance Aug. 30 in Salmon Arm.
The full article, which appeared in the Aug. 27 issue of Hawke’s Bay Today, can be seen at www.hawkesbaytoday.co.nz.
