Photo: Facebook

Lynda Saundry

A murder trial moved from Vernon to Kelowna got underway at the Kelowna courthouse Monday, with prosecutors trying to show the accused Lynda Saundry was unhappy with the man she lived with, the deceased Barry Jones.

Saundry is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jones at a home they shared near Round Lake, west of Armstrong, in 2020.

Prosectors Monday focused on an email Saundry sent to a friend of Jones, Bernard Furlong, who was questioned on the stand Monday about the message and if he ever saw Saundry upset with Jones.

Saundry sent the email to Furlong but the exact date is unknown because it cannot be read clearly on the photos of the email and Furlong said police took his cell phone. The email expresses concern about Jones drinking with Furlong, blaming him for supplying the beer the two men often drank together and how Jones acted when drinking.

Furlong said he had known Jones for about a year before meeting Saundry, three years before Jones's death. He said Saundry did not usually say much around him until she was upset with Jones, and then she would
"really let him have it."

He testified at one point she called him a “pig” in front of him and complained about Jones's attitude towards women and his drinking.

Furlong and Jones met at Jones’ house the night before he died to drink beer and talk. Furlong said he drank six beers and Jones drank four. He said Saundry was there that night, but he had little interaction with her.

Furlong testified there were usually several guns in the home that were not locked away in gun safes or with trigger locks on them. But he added he did not see any ammunition in the house.

Meanwhile, Saundry’s defense lawyer said the email was “highly prejudicial” to his client and should not be allowed as evidence because there was no context presented with it.

He noted Furlong could not remember exactly when the email was sent, Jones's phone number, and other aspects of Jones and Saundry’s relationship. He called the email “a screen capture of words with no context.”

The judge, who is hearing the case alone without a jury, has to rule on the admissibility of the email.

Saundry was charged with killing Jones a week after his body was found on July 30, 2020 at the Emery Louis Road home they shared. In 2022, she was successful in having the trial moved from Vernon to Kelowna.

She has been in custody since her arrest in August 2020.

The trial will continue.