Prosecutors, defence to have preliminary inquiry ahead of Penticton high school murder trial

High school murder inquiry

Photo: Isaac Hayse Jack in an August 2022 photo.

The case of a man accused of murder on the grounds of a Penticton high school continues to move forward in court towards a preliminary inquiry, a significant step before trial.

Isaac Hayse Jack is charged with the murder of Taig Savage, 22, in September 2021. He is charged alongside three minors, whose identities are protected due to their age at the time and will be tried in youth court apart from Jack.

Savage was found unresponsive, suffering from critical injuries, in a field on Penticton Secondary School grounds on Sept. 5, 2021. He was pronounced dead in hospital.

Accused Jack, who was 18 at the time of the alleged murder, was arrested in 2024. His lawyer James Pennington appeared in court Monday, Feb. 10 where he confirmed his understanding that his client would be seeking a jury trial.

Pennington and Crown counsel Kurt Froehlich then spoke to Judge Gregory Koturbash about plans for a preliminary inquiry, which they estimated will take five to seven days.

The purpose of a preliminary inquiry is to determine the strength of evidence, and decide whether a matter should proceed to trial. Evidence shared during such inquiries are routinely covered by publication bans.

Judge Koturbash urged the lawyers to nail down exactly how many days they need for the inquiry, noting that five days versus seven might be easier to schedule on the court docket.

No date has yet been set for the preliminary inquiry to begin.

Photo: Taig Savage

Taig Savage was killed in September 2021.