PENTICTON – The gallery in a Penticton court room was packed with spectators Friday for legal arguments in a murder case.
Grace Elinor Robotti and her brother, Pier Louis Robotti, are charged with second-degree murder in the death of Roxanne Louie.
The body of the 26-year-old woman was found in the woods near Naramata in January 2015.
At the preliminary inquiry, defence lawyers argued for the murder charges to be downgraded to manslaughter.
The Crown prosecutor wants the charges upgraded to first-degree murder.
“I think it will bring the justice system into disrepute if it goes ahead on manslaughter,” says Dan Wilson, Louie’s uncle.
The lawyer submissions and evidence presented during the hearing are subject to a publication ban.
The judge will hand down her decision at a later date.
“We pray every day and we’re very spiritual people and we believe in divine intervention and the creator will take care of this matter,” says Wilson.
Grace Robotti is the great-grandmother of Louie’s four-year-old son.
— with files from Angela Jung