Peter Beckett is scheduled to appear in Salmon Arm Provincial Court in British Columbia on June 25.
Beckett, 56, is facing a single charge of first-degree murder in the death of his wife and former Dapp School teacher Laura Letts Beckett on a lake near Revelstoke, B.C. in 2010.
He also faces two charges of counselling to commit murder and obstruction of justice.
Beckett’s upcoming court date is for the purpose of fixing dates for various items, including continuing his preliminary inquiry and several other applications he has made.
The preliminary inquiry was never completed because Beckett ran into difficulties with his counsel, causing the proceedings to be put on hold.
At the conclusion of the June 25 court appearance, it’s hoped dates will be set to complete the preliminary inquiry and deal with Beckett’s other applications.
Beckett is accused of murder in relation to the drowning death of his wife, Laura Letts Beckett, a former teacher at Dapp School.
Letts Beckett died while vacationing in Shelter Bay Provincial Park near Revelstoke, B.C. in August 2010.
Police initially said the death resulted from her not wearing a life jacket and not being able to swim, but announced in June 2011 they were treating the matter as a homicide.
Beckett was arrested on first-degree murder charges on Aug. 12, 2011. His arrest and subsequent legal proceedings have generated a great deal of interest from media outlets in New Zealand, as well. Beckett is a former Napier City councillor, having serving one term from 1998 to 2001 before moving to Canada.
The new charges come following a four-month investigation called Project E-PEDLAR that began in August 2012 and focused on allegations that Beckett was “attempting to influence the outcome” of criminal proceedings relating to the murder charge for which he has been in custody since August 2011.
The intended victims are people whom the Crown would rely on as witnesses at the murder trial. None of the intended victims have come to any harm.
A courthouse clerk in Port Coquitlam, B.C., who asked not to be named, said the charge against Beckett states that between July 1 and Dec. 6, 2012, Beckett counselled “Agent A” to commit the murders of five individuals, some of them in the Westlock area.
The Westlock News has chosen not to name the intended victims.
