By Tim Petruk, Kamloops This Week
A judge has ruled against dropping the first-degree murder charge faced by a former New Zealand politician accused of killing his Canadian wife on a B.C. vacation near Revelstoke almost seven years ago.
Peter Beckett will stand trial in 麻豆精选 later this summer. His lawyers had made an application to B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alison Beames to have his charge thrown out due to unreasonable delay.
Beames denied Beckett鈥檚 application during a brief hearing in Kamloops on Thursday.
The application was made under a guideline established last year by the Supreme Court of Canada placing limits on criminal proceedings. In Beckett鈥檚 case, the guidelines state he should be tried within 30 months. He has been before the courts since Aug. 8, 2011.
Beckett鈥檚 wife, Laura Letts, drowned in Upper Arrow Lake, near Shelter Bay, south of Revelstoke, on Aug. 18, 2010.
Beckett鈥檚 first trial ended in a hung jury and a mistrial was declared in April 2016.
His second trial is slated to begin in 麻豆精选 on Aug. 21.
