It was an emotionally charged courtroom in Penticton on Wednesday morning, as accused mass shooter John Brittain made a brief court appearance via video from custody.
Brittain, 68, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder after a quadruple homicide in Penticton on April 15.
On Wednesday, Crown counsel requested the court impose a no contact order so Brittain can’t communicate with his ex-wife, Kathy Brittain, while in custody.
She is expected to be a witness in the case.
“That’s pretty cruel on her. She had nothing to do with this,” Brittain said of the proposed no-contact order that would prevent him from contacting her, directly or indirectly.
The comment prompted a reaction from family members of the victims sitting in the front row of the gallery.
Because defense counsel was not in court to respond to Crown’s request for a no contact order, the court will hear that application on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
Brittain is expect to appear by video at that time.
He is currently being held in custody at the Okanagan Correctional Centre (OCC). He was wearing an orange prison shirt and pants and spoke quietly as he answered questions from the judge.
WATCH BELOW (Aired April 15, 2019): 4 people dead, 1 in custody after ‘targeted’ shooting spree in downtown Penticton
Police allege Brittain began his attack at the north end of the city, gunning down Rudi Winter at Heales Avenue and Lakeview Street while he was pruning a tree across the street from Brittain’s rental home.
The alleged gunman then headed south to a second location, where three other people were fatally shot inside two neighbouring homes.
WATCH BELOW (Aired April 17, 2019): Penticton mass shooting neighbourhood saw dozens of bylaw complaint calls: ex-city officials
The victims — Winter, Barry and Susan Wonch, and Darlene Knippelberg — all lived on the same block on Cornwall Drive, as does Kathy Brittain, who is Brittain’s estranged wife.
Police seized a black Volkswagen Jetta at the Penticton RCMP detachment that was allegedly driven by the shooter after he turned himself in.
The shooting spree spanned just one hour.
WATCH BELOW (Aired April 18, 2019): More than 300 gather for vigil in Penticton to remember shooting victims
Sources told Global News at the time that Brittain’s ex-wife had a string of disputes and grievances with her neighbours.
Police have not indicated a motive in the fatal shootings, but confirmed Brittain knew all of his alleged victims.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
WATCH BELOW (Aired April 18, 2018): ‘The tenant everybody would want’: landlord of Penticton shooting suspect
Brittain worked as an engineer with the City of Penticton from 2011 to 2016, and was a part-time civil engineer at private firm Ecora at the time of the incident.
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