CALGARY- The man accused of second-degree murder in the deaths of radio legend Bill Powers and his wife, has waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
While normally that would mean the accused would go straight to trial, that’s unlikely to happen in the case of Derek Puffer.
Puffer was arrested after the bodies of Powers and his wife Donna Lee, Puffer’s adoptive mother, were discovered in their southwest home on July 4.
Puffer’s lawyer says his client will now probably face a mental health hearing to determine whether he was legally insane at the time of the murders.
“He’s in hospital and under strict supervision,” says defence lawyer Alain Hepner.”He’s heavily medicated.”
The news that Puffer may never face a criminal trial is hard to hear for friends and colleagues of Bill Powers.
“The hardest thing about the celebration of life for Donna Lee and Billy was the family members urging us to forgive,” says local media personality Eric Francis.
“There were a lot of us in the crowd who just weren’t ready to forgive and I really believe a lot of us aren’t ready to forgive – it’s such a horrible situation.”
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