Trial for alleged October domestic killing set for January 2023

Photo: Madison Erhardt

Police outside 661 Bechard Road on Oct. 18.

A woman charged with the killing of her husband last October is scheduled to face a jury trial in January 2023.

Billie Jo Bennett was charged with second-degree murder in December, more than seven weeks after police found the body of James Wesley Bennett at Kelowna's 661 Bechard Road – the couple's family home.

On Monday, Bennett's trial was scheduled to begin Jan. 9, 2023, with jury selection set for Jan. 5. BC Prosecution Service spokesperson Dan McLaughlin was unable to provide an estimate of how long the trial is expected to take.

Bennett remains in custody, as she has not sought bail since her arrest on Dec. 8.

Following the killing, Kelowna RCMP Supt. Kara Triance expressed her frustration with the Crown's delay in laying charges. Bennett was the lone suspect in the killing and had been arrested on the day her husband's body was found.

But the BC Prosecution Service opted to wait until the RCMP's full investigation was complete before laying any charges, and Bennett remained out of custody for more than seven weeks.

“I find that concerning, absolutely, because there are no conditions imposed on this individual. And yet I understand that my partners at the BC Prosecution Service are acting within the directives of their policies,” Supt. Triance said on Oct. 21.

“As police officers, this is a very frustrating situation to be in, as we look at the two systems that we must operate between, and increasingly deal with people at large in our society who have complex and concurrent mental health or criminal matters that are affecting the way that we can keep our community safe.”

The circumstances around the alleged killing remain unclear. The details are expected to come out during next year's jury trial.