Three years after the death of a Lake Country woman, the murder trial for her husband is finally on its way to trial after an arraignment hearing on Monday morning.
Lambertus Westervelt, 63, was charged in April 2019 for allegedly killing his wife in June 2016.
Crown counsel has estimated a five-week preliminary hearing, still awaiting a court date.
A Tuesday hearing was set to fix a date for a pre-trial conference between his defence lawyer and Crown counsel.
Westervelt was taken into police custody in an April 6, 2019, arrested and charged with the second-degree murder of his wife Arlene Westervelt, 56.
He was granted bail on April 16.
At the time of Arlene’s death, RCMP called the incident a tragic accident.
She and Westervelt had been canoeing on the afternoon of June 26 2016 when their canoe capsized.
Police said he was rescued by a passing boater, but Arlene could not be found.
Despite an extensive search of Okanagan Lake by local fire and rescue personnel that evening, Arlene’s body wasn’t recovered until the following day.
She was found in 35 feet of water, approximately 100 feet from the shore, by trained divers with the RCMP underwater recovery team.
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