The case involving Penticton’s quadruple homicide last spring continues to crawl its way through the courts.
Lawyers were scheduled to fix a date for trial in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday for accused killer John Brittain, but the hearing was adjourned to Feb. 24.
Court heard that given the nature of the allegations, the file must go before a case management judge before a pre-trial conference and pre-trial applications can be scheduled.
The courts also renewed a no-contact order barring John Brittain from having any contact with his ex-wife, Kathy Brittain.
Brittain previously waived his right to a preliminary inquiry and has selected a jury trial.
John Brittain, 68, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder after a quadruple homicide in Penticton on Apr. 15.
The victims — Rudi Winter, Barry and Susan Wonch, and Darlene Knippelberg — were all neighbours of Kathy Brittain on Cornwall Drive in Penticton.
Sources told Global News at the time that Brittain’s ex-wife had a string of disputes and grievances with her neighbours.
Police did not indicate a motive in the fatal shootings but confirmed John Brittain knew all of his alleged victims.
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 mass shooting.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
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