Trial for accused wife killer

A man accused of killing his wife by pushing her off a boat at a lake near Revelstoke, B.C., is scheduled to stand trial in January 2015.

Peter Beckett is charged with first-degree murder, counselling to commit murder and obstruction of justice.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Meiklem has set aside six months for the jury trial.

He also released a ruling that allowed Beckett access to the majority of paper documents he sought.

“I’ve read your decision,” Beckett told Meiklem on Monday.

“(The word) surprising, credulous, inaccurate and biased come to mind,” Beckett said.

“I thought the decision was in your favour, more or less," Meiklem said.

Beckett is now appealing some decisions made on his applications, but Meiklem warned that won’t delay trial.

“You haven’t been diligent on your defence,” Meiklem said. “You’ve been diligent on the offensive side.”

Beckett, a native New Zealander and a massive man who dwarfs sheriffs and lawyers in the courtroom, is a former alderman in that country.

The Crown alleges he killed Laura Letts-Beckett, 50, by shoving her off a boat at Shelter Bay, south of Revelstoke, in 2010.

He was arrested a year later.

Police also believe Beckett plotted to kill five witnesses — including Letts-Beckett’s parents, an RCMP sergeant and an Alberta lawyer — while behind bars.

Beckett is in custody at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, where he said he is locked up 22 hours a day.

He has been filing applications from behind bars, alleging abuse of process, bias by police and court officials and failure of the Crown to disclose documents.

The Crown was planning to give him electronic access, but Beckett complained he was not comfortable with technology and accused officials of tampering with electronic documents.(Kamloops This Week)