Penticton

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Roger Badour during recent court appearance

The preliminary hearing for a man accused of killing a Princeton woman was adjourned Thursday, after he fell ill in a Penticton court room.

Roger Badour, 64, collapsed and was rushed to hospital on the third day of the hearing which began last week.

He was expected to undergo tests during the afternoon to determine the cause of his illness.

"We are not prepared to proceed on the first degree murder charge, and we will reschedule what we have left,"said defence lawyer James Pennington, who was cross-examining a witness when Badour passed out.

The matter was sent over to the judicial case manager Friday to set future dates for the hearing to continue.

The dramatic situation is one of many, since Badour began appearing on the first degree murder charge.

In recent weeks, he claimed he feared for his life in the North Fraser Pretrial Centre, so much so that another inmate offered him a shank for protection.

He was since moved to Penticton cells for the duration of the inquiry. According to Pennington, he was then slated to move to Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre.

Last November, Badour, a high risk sex offender with a history of preying on vulnerable women, was stopped for a traffic violation in  Penticton. After giving officers a false name they sereached his vehicle and found three firearms, two of them loaded, and a small amount of marijuana.

The following day, the Princeton RCMP searched the home of Gisele Duckham, 56, on Osprey Lake Road and found her dead on the premises.

It was confirmed she died of shotgun wounds.

Badour has been behind bars since.

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