Kelowna woman’s murder trial delayed until spring

The trial for a Kelowna, B.C., woman accused of killing her partner in 2021 has been set back several months as the court works to accommodate pre-trial applications, the BC Prosecution Service said Wednesday.

Billie Jo Bennett was scheduled to face a judge and jury on the charge of second-degree murder Jan. 9, but the trial is now tentatively scheduled to get underway in the spring.

“It is currently set for May 29 but may start sooner if pre-trial matters are concluded,” Dan McLaughlin, with the BC Prosecution Service, said.

“She has re-elected to be tried by Supreme Court judge sitting without a jury.”

2:03 Kelowna RCMP superintendent calls for more officers

Bennett, 54, is accused of the second-degree murder of James Wesley Bennett.

Bennett was charged in early December 2021, though she was first arrested in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 18, 2021, homicide in the 600 block of Bechard Road.

She was released the next day when the BC Prosecution Service didn’t apply charges and Supt. Kara Triance, Kelowna’s top cop, called a press conference on Oct. 22, 2021, to address questions raised in the wake of the investigation, which had seemingly hit an impasse.

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

It was a matter she described as frustrating.