Man charged with murder in wife’s drowning death near Revelstoke will face second trial

KAMLOOPS – A man charged with murder in connection to his wife's 2010 drowning death in Upper Arrow Lake will face another jury.

Peter Beckett has been in custody for nearly six years in connection to Laura Letts-Beckett's death near Revelstoke. His lawyers filed an application earlier this year to have his first-degree murder charge dropped due to unreasonable delays.

A recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling says an appropriate time for an accused to be charged and go to trial is no more than 30 months.

But Kelowna Supreme Court judge Alison Beames ruled today, June 29, that Beckett's application was dismissed and he will need to stand trial for a second time.

Beames appeared by telephone in Kamloops court, and said her written reasons on the application were about 80 pages long. She opted not to read her reasons into the record, but said they will be available for Crown and defence lawyers later today.

Beckett has already been tried by a jury in Kamloops, but they were unable to reach a verdict. He's due back in court in Kelowna on Aug. 21 to face another jury trial.

Find past stories on the case here.

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