Murder
Judge to decide on guilty plea after accused says he killed his ‘possessed’ ex-girlfriend
KAMLOOPS - The accused in Kamloops’ only murder of 2014 pleaded guilty to killing his ex-girlfriend but now a judge will have to decide whether to accept it after hearing the accused's belief he killed a 'demon' to protect himself. Christopher Frank Butler, born 1973, pleaded guilty in Kamloops Supreme Court today, Aug. 5 after...
Police confirm identity of Black Mountain murder victim but still no arrests
KELOWNA – RCMP have confirmed the identity of the man found murdered in his home on Black Mountain earlier this week. The body of Amardeep Singh Ahluwalia, 47, was found in his home on Feedham Avenue in the early morning hours of July 7. Police have said very little about the cause of death but...
One year later, police still need help solving Glenmore murder
KELOWNA – One year after a Kelowna woman was found murdered in her Glenmore home, RCMP are still no closer to identifying a suspect. The body of Theresa Ashley Neville was found by paramedics shortly after midnight June 18 and an autopsy revealed Neville was murdered. Frank Schlief says he rented the home to Neville,...
Murdered Penticton man remembered as a diligent worker
PENTICTON - The man murdered in Penticton last week was a father of four and worked at the Copper Mountain Mine. Frank Armitage worked with Darren Leadbeater, 36, the person police named yesterday as the man murdered at Golden Sands Resort in Penticton, and says he was shocked when he learned of his co-worker's death. “I knew...
RCMP confirm death at Penticton motel was murder
PENTICTON – Seven days after shots were fired and a man’s body was found at a home in Penticton, police have confirmed the death as a homicide today. RCMP have also confirmed the murder victim’s name. Darren Leadbeater, 36, of Penticton was originally from Fort McMurray, Alta. Police responded to a call about shots fired...
Convicted murderer who rammed police in stolen truck released
KELOWNA – A convicted murderer who Justice Peter Rogers calls a 'serial criminal' will be released from custody later today despite using a stolen truck to ram a police car just one year after being released from prison. Daniel Mader, 31, was sentenced to time served Wednesday in Kelowna Supreme Court. He pleaded guilty to...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Court hears bizarre testimony from key witness
PENTICTON - Witness testimony in the Koopmans murder trial took on a decidedly different direction as a key witness took the stand for a second day. Bradley Martin continued his testimony today, March 5, in Penticton Supreme Court in the trial of John Ike Koopmans, who is charged with two counts of first degree murder and...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Accused had no ill will toward shooting victim: Friend
PENTICTON - The last witness in the John Koopmans murder trial said he’d never seen the accused show any ill will towards victim Keith Wharton. Robert Hart, a friend of Koopmans, testified if Koopmans had guns, he was unaware of it, calling him an “even-tempered man” who he had never seen angry. The double murder...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: ‘You were there to settle a score:’ Crown
PENTICTON - Crown Prosecutor Frank Dubenski continued to pummel accused murderer John Koopmans with questions regarding Koopmans’ strange social behaviour the night three people were shot in Princeton. In Koopmans' third day on the stand in his own defence today, March 30, Dubenski demanded to know why he would walk for miles late in the...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Crown challenges Koopmans’ story
"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL THERE IS NO .357 THERE — YOU SENT THEM ON A WILD GOOSE CHASE." PENTICTON - Crown Prosecutor Frank Dubenski hammered accused murderer John Ike Koopmans during cross examination today with questions about a missing handgun Koopmans said he disposed of long before a similar weapon was used once kill two...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Police waited nearly three hours to inspect crime scene amid chaos
PENTICTON - Police arriving on scene following a report of a double homicide in Princeton found themselves overwhelmed by a chaotic scene, court was told Wednesday. A police officer who acted as primary investigator for the homicides said he found the suspected murder weapon and produced for the jury today, March 25, photographic evidence that...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Accused was ‘grumpy’ before Wharton, Fox were killed: Ex-girlfriend
PENTICTON - John Ike Koopmans was intoxicated and in a foul mood the night Keith Wharton and Rose Fox were killed and Bradley Martin shot, according to his former girlfriend. Elaine Hoiland told the jury in the double-murder trial in Penticton Law Courts today, March 24, Koopmans walked out of her house at 340 Tulameen...
Accused in murder case to act as own lawyer, claims mental disorder
KAMLOOPS – The man accused of murdering a 26-year-old in his Cherry Avenue apartment says he will represent himself in his trial to pursue a not criminally responsible due to mental disorder defence. Christopher Frank Butler, born 1973, made a brief video appearance in Kamloops Provincial Court Monday morning where he told a Justice of...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Mother describes finding her son shot
'I TOLD THE POLICE TO PLEASE GO HELP MY SON, HE'S STILL BREATHING....' PENTICTON - Jurors in the John Ike Koopmans murder trial heard dramatic testimony today, Feb. 3, as the mother of shooting victim Keith Wharton described finding her son and his girlfriend dead in their Princeton trailer. Carol Wharton’s voice broke as she...
Renewed call for information in decade old homicide case
KAMLOOPS - The body of Shana Labatte was discovered in the Mission Flats area in 2004 and RCMP are again asking for help from the public in solving the decade old case. Labatte’s body was discovered near a walking trail March 23, 2004 and RCMP were quick to say the 31-year-old had been murdered. At...