The trial for a Lake Country man who was accused of killing his wife during a 2016 canoe trip came to an abrupt end before it even started because of an “issue with the pathology report.”
According to a disciplinary report issued on Dec. 9 for one of the police officers with a connection to the second-degree murder case against Bert Westervelt, the victim’s family wasn’t told that information at the time.
That, in turn, stoked the family’s concerns that the murder trial buckled under police mismanagement and, in particular, one relationship between a high-ranking officer and the accused.
RCMP Sgt. Brian Gateley of the B.C. Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) was friends with Bert, according to a recent disciplinary review.
His wife was a public health nurse who became a work colleague and friend of Arlene, who was also a public health nurse.
“The Gateleys and Westervelts would socialize several times per year,” reads the 29-page decision that offers insights into Gateley’s actions in the aftermath of the charges being stayed.
Enough so, that when Arlene was found dead 100 feet from the shore on Okanagan Lake, Gateley and his wife went to the Westervelt home on multiple occasions “to provide comfort and support” to Bert and other family members, according to the disciplinary document.
That’s when Gateley found himself being placed on the other side of the investigation.
“During one of these visits, Mr. Westervelt mentioned that his wife’s phone had been returned to him by the RCMP and that there were photos on it taken the day of her death that he wanted for the funeral,” reads the report.
“Mr. Westervelt indicated that he did not know the passcode to open the phone and that Telus had not been able to assist. Mr. Westervelt also asked if Ms. Gateley would do a reading at the funeral.”
Multiple family members witnessed these conversations and Ms. Gateley ultimately declined the offer to do the reading.
Gateley, however, indicated he would see what he could do about the phone using RCMP resources.
There’s a machine called a Cellebrite that Mounties use to unlock phones, and Gateley asked the person in charge of using the machine if he could help.
That person expressed some concern but ultimately spoke with a supervisor, who said it was OK, given that Bert was not at that time a suspect.
Photos were extracted for the funeral with little concern, according to the document.
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Then, an unspecified time later, Ms. Gateley received a text from Bert, asking that Sgt. Gateley go see him.
When he did, life changed for them both.
“During an initial brief discussion, Mr. Westervelt indicated that he had not been truthful with the RCMP about the facts surrounding his wife’s death,” reads the document.
Gateley then “realized immediately the seriousness of the situation” and obtained a “pure version statement” from Mr. Westervelt.
“After making extensive notes, he contacted the Kelowna RCMP Major Crimes Section and provided them with the statement he had taken from Mr. Westervelt, along with the circumstances surrounding the use of the Cellebrite machine to access Ms. Westervelt’s phone,” reads the decision.
“Shortly thereafter, the RCMP began a criminal investigation and subsequently laid second-degree murder charges against Bert Westervelt. ”
Gateley was apparently careful at that point to stay away from the investigation, “but was notified that he would be a witness at a preliminary inquiry that was set to be conducted in September 2020.”
A month before the court date, he was advised that the Crown had entered a stay of proceedings and was told there was an issue with the pathologist’s report.
Arlene’s family, however, was determined to find out what happened and they went to media outlets highlighting their concerns about the case.
One of those outlets, according to the decision, then reached out to Gateley.
At this point, Gateley had already been the subject of a Code of Conduct investigation and CTV’s W5 wanted to discuss his personal friendship with Bert, his involvement in unlocking Arlene’s cell phone and the RCMP Code of Conduct mandate letter.
Gateley apparently reached out to a superior officer and told them — not for the first time — he was concerned that Arlene’s family had not been apprised as to the reason for the stay of proceedings and his desire to do so.
Between October 2020 and January 2021, Gateley met with a number of his supervisors and was advised against participating in any media interviews and may have been directed not to have contact with witnesses in the investigation.
In February 2021, however, he wrote a letter to Arlene’s sister, Debbie Hennig, and that constituted misconduct for how it — among other things — discredited police and because it flew in the face of directions from his superior officers.
Aside from that, however, it also highlighted that the communication was lacking a few key details.
Of note, Gateley said he saw the show, that there were some inaccuracies, and he wanted the family to know he hadn’t compromised the investigation.
Gateley told her that he and his wife never had any social interaction on his own with the Westervelts, a fact that’s at odds with the findings of the investigation, and that he didn’t have their phone numbers or email addresses.
He also said that “conclusions the program came to were regrettable and inaccurate and he wanted to assure the family that his actions did not in any way compromise the police investigation into Ms. Westervelt’s death. He told her about how the mobile phone was cracked, the photos were shared and that in September 2022 he was going to be a witness, but the trial was scuttled due to the pathologist report, something that gained more light with the release of coroner documents.”
The report also said “significantly, (Gateley) did not mention in the letter that he had been contacted by Mr. Westervelt who confessed to Gateley that he had not told the RCMP the truth. He did not reveal that he had interviewed Mr. Westervelt, taken detailed notes of the interview and turned them over to the RCMP in Kelowna.”
The report also said, “a written reprimand is a serious penalty for a member who has had 34 years of service as a police officer, 31.5 of those with the RCMP and at least 10 of those years as a commissioned officer with the RCMP.”
The report is available online.
The BC Coroners Service has reopened the case, and, in May 2021, a civil suit was launched against him.
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