Woman charged with murder of Kelowna man

A Kelowna woman has been charged in what Mounties earlier characterized as a case of “intimate partner violence.”

RCMP announced on Wednesday that Billie Jo Bennett, 54, is in custody after being arrested in Kamloops and a charge of second-degree murder has been approved by the B.C. Prosecution Service.

No new details were released regarding the Oct. 18 homicide along the 600 block of Bechard Road, though police had previously discussed the case with local media.

Supt. Kara Triance called a press conference on Oct. 22 to address questions raised in the wake of the investigation seemingly hitting an impasse.

She told reporters a woman was arrested at the scene, but, within a day, was released back into the community when no charges were brought forth by the B.C. Prosecution Service.

The woman was apprehended under the Mental Health Act shortly thereafter, but, at that point, RCMP officers were cut out of the loop, Triance said.

“So often, it is these systems that we are caught between,” Triance said Oct. 22.

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“The police are left between the health-care system, which is burdened by the constraints that it has, and the justice system, where there are a lot of restrictions and increasingly closed doors of remand centres that are full of policies and directives that I believe are important, and modernizing our justice system, but leaving individuals at large in their community.”

This “frustrating situation” is affecting the way RCMP can keep the community safe, she said, eroding the sense of safety for residents.

As the matter is now before the courts, police said no further information will be released.