A Kelowna woman charged with second-degree murder will have her case moved to Supreme Court after appearing in Provincial Court on Tuesday (Jan. 18).
Billie-Jo Bennett remains in custody and appeared by video. She did not show her full face on camera and was quiet throughout the discussions.
Bennett is facing prosecution for a second-degree murder charge for the death of her partner, James Wesley Bennett.
RCMP initially recommended a first-degree murder charge to the B.C. Prosecution Service but it was not approved based on the initial evidence sent said Supt. Kara Triance in a press conference on Oct. 21, 2021.
The case is “a matter of intimate partner violence,” said Triance. She said the man and the woman were living in the house together and neither of the two was known to police before the incident.
On Oct. 18, just before 7 a.m., Kelowna RCMP was called to a residence on Bechard Road following a 911 call. Officers found the deceased man and arrested the 54-year-old woman. She was released the next day without charge. Bennett was then apprehended under the Mental Health Act and taken to Kelowna General Hospital before being arrested on Dec. 8.
READ MORE: Woman arrested after cops find body in Kelowna home, death deemed suspicious
Bennett’s lawyer said in court today that the charged will not request a right for a preliminary trial.
The case will appear in Supreme Court on Monday, Jan. 24.
READ MORE: Kelowna woman charged with murder following partner’s death
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Jacqueline.Gelineau@kelownacapnews.com
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