Peter Beckett granted bail

WESTLOCK – Peter Beckett, who’s been tried twice and convicted once for murdering his wife, Dapp-native Laura Letts-Beckett, has been granted bail while the B.C. Crown prepares an application they hope will lead to the case being heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Beckett was granted bail in a Kamloops courtroom Dec. 18 pending the Crown appeal of the B.C. Court of Appeal’s overturning of Beckett’s 2017 first-degree murder conviction back in September 2020. While on bail, Beckett will be barred from having any contact with Crown witnesses from either of his trials and also be prohibited from travelling anywhere outside of B.C. or Alberta.

His conviction was overturned on a number of grounds including that the trial judge erred in instructing jurors and that prosecutors made improper submissions to the jury — the three-judge panel called 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.”

Ultimately, the 64-year-old Beckett will remain a free man unless the Supreme Court of Canada sides with prosecutors, who have decided not to run a third trial — in a Dec. 18 interview with Kamloops This Week (KTW) Crown prosecutor Neil Wiberg confirmed that fact. The B.C. Prosecution Service is seeking leave to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.

According to KTW, the Crown has not yet filed its application with the Supreme Court, but once it’s filed, Beckett’s lawyers will be given time to reply and the high court will then decide whether to hear the case. A decision on whether the appeal will be heard is expected in March.

If the Supreme Court of Canada opts not to grant leave to the Crown, Beckett will be a free man. He will also remain free if the court agrees to hear the appeal, but sides with Beckett’s defence.

The only way Beckett will wind up back behind bars is if the Supreme Court of Canada overturns the B.C. Court of Appeal’s decision on each of its grounds.

In a story published by the Vancouver Sun at the end of November, Beckett’s defence lawyer Marilyn Sanford said she was “surprised” to hear the Crown was seeking leave to appeal — twice during Beckett’s second trial she had sought a mistrial.

Case background

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 in jail until last month’s bail hearing.

Beckett, who had previously served 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 in 2000 and the couple were eventually 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, jurors were shown a video in which Beckett, an exceptionally large man, told police he was too buoyant to rescue his wife — on one occasion he performed a Maori war dance in the courtroom.

Beckett also took the stand in his own defence during that trial, becoming involved in heated verbal confrontations with then-Crown prosecutor Joel Gold. In Kelowna, Beckett did not testify.