Is Peter Beckett a grieving husband who lost his wife in a tragic accident or the mastermind of a murder plot set into motion for financial gain?
Crown counsel Iain Currie told jurors that the answer to that question can be found in a statement the former New Zealand politician gave to police Aug. 18, 2010香蕉视频直播攖he day his wife, Laura Letts-Beckett, drowned on Upper Arrow Lakes.
香蕉视频直播淪he kind of went down the side on the boat, I think, and I grabbed the (fishing) rod and I started (to reel it in) 香蕉视频直播� stupid, but I guess as a fisherman香蕉视频直播� when something like that happens香蕉视频直播� instinctively, you grab the rod,香蕉视频直播� said Currie, reading from the statement Beckett made to police.
It香蕉视频直播檚 the first time Beckett makes the comment about a 香蕉视频直播渇isherman香蕉视频直播檚 instinct,香蕉视频直播� though he repeated it later in his statement.
香蕉视频直播淪he was moving out the back of the boat quick and, you know, stupid, I was thinking if I could get the rod in I could get around to her. So I was winding the rod in and she was getting behind me,香蕉视频直播� Currie read.
Consider that statement, he told the jury. What would it be like to reel in a fishing rod, while floating by a loved one who was flailing, kicking and screaming in the water next to them?
香蕉视频直播淭hink about a 香蕉视频直播榝isherman香蕉视频直播檚 instinct香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播� Could that be anything but a lie? Could that be true?香蕉视频直播� Currie said.
Few have been in the circumstance that Beckett found himself in that day, said Currie, but most have found themselves in a moment of perceived danger for either themselves or a loved one.
Pointing to personal experience, Currie said he remembers, from his childhood, his mother throwing out her arm whenever she made a sudden stop and they were driving together.
香蕉视频直播淪he couldn香蕉视频直播檛 restrain me, it香蕉视频直播檚 more likely her arm would be broken than it is she could stop me,香蕉视频直播� he said, adding that she did it for years, nevertheless. Helping someone you love when they香蕉视频直播檙e in need, he argued, is a real instinct.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 like the reflex to gasp when you fall into water. It香蕉视频直播檚 a human instinct,香蕉视频直播� said Currie.香蕉视频直播滿r. Beckett香蕉视频直播檚 fisherman instinct is a lie. Mr. Beckett tells you that when his wife falls in the water his instinct it to turn away from her. That香蕉视频直播檚 not instinctive.香蕉视频直播�
That said, Beckett isn香蕉视频直播檛 on trial for failing to save his wife.
香蕉视频直播淲e say Mr. Beckett murdered his wife, just to be clear,香蕉视频直播� said Currie. 香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檙e saying the fact he didn香蕉视频直播檛 save her when that would have been easy 香蕉视频直播� easy to try, instinctive to try, unavoidable to try, unless you don香蕉视频直播檛 want to. The fact he didn香蕉视频直播檛 save his wife is evidence that he pushed her out.香蕉视频直播�
Currie told jurors that when Beckett said that he had a fisherman香蕉视频直播檚 instinct and no instinct to save his wife, it香蕉视频直播檚 because he香蕉视频直播檚 lying.
香蕉视频直播淗e香蕉视频直播檚 lying because he pushed her in,香蕉视频直播� said Currie. 香蕉视频直播淭he evidence is that he wanted her dead and he pushed her in.香蕉视频直播�
That, he said, puts the decision to take out an accidental death policy just a month before his wife香蕉视频直播檚 death, and allegations that he plotted with a known criminal to rid himself of witnesses posed to testify against him in the years after her death in a very suspicious light.
Marilyn Sandford, the defence lawyer for Beckett argued the day before that there was no incentive for murder and if her client was motivated by money at all, he香蕉视频直播檇 be better off keeping his wife alive. As a longtime school teacher Letts-Beckett made a good wage that couldn香蕉视频直播檛 be replaced by the pension she香蕉视频直播檇 leave behind which, including CPP, amounted to around $2,600 a month.
Also, she said, any concerns over the accidental death insurance policy taken out in the weeks before the drowning were inconsequential as well.
Between work benefits and a $200,000 life insurance policy attached to a loan for a large motorhome the couple shared, Letts-Beckett was insured for roughly $644,000 as early as 2006.
That amount dipped for around a year when the couple switched over financing for the motorhome and the policy they took out months before the drowning brought them back up.
香蕉视频直播淭hat香蕉视频直播檚 the same total amount of life insurance she had in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009,香蕉视频直播� said Sandford.
香蕉视频直播淲here is the planning and deliberation? When did it start? 香蕉视频直播as Peter Beckett planning and deliberating in 2006 when he bought the motorhome? 香蕉视频直播榃ell let香蕉视频直播檚 buy that and get life insurance on that debt. Four years from now I will kill you and I will get that money.香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈
It doesn香蕉视频直播檛 make sense, she told jurors.
香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 no evidence of a financial motive for claiming life insurance 香蕉视频直播� and you may have thought this is a life insurance case,香蕉视频直播� she said.
She also told jurors that in the months after Letts-Beckett香蕉视频直播檚 death, Beckett never tried to cash in on the life insurance policy that had been taken out, nor did he make any real efforts to secure any potential inheritance from his wife香蕉视频直播檚 well-off parents 香蕉视频直播� another Crown theory.
香蕉视频直播淲hat is the Crown premise? Peter Beckett believes that by killing his wife he could then sue the Letts (family) for the money that his wife would have inherited from them someday, if they predeceased her?香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚f you accept that you have to put aside all common sense about how wills work and how estates work.香蕉视频直播�
Prosecution, she said, would like you to ignore the fact that Letts-Beckett香蕉视频直播檚 parents were still alive and if he wanted to gain from their future death he could have sued them when Letts-Beckett was alive.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 a tortured theory,香蕉视频直播� she said.
She also dismissed all evidence from a jail-cell informant alleged to have been asked to get rid of anything that may get in the way of Beckett香蕉视频直播檚 future freedom.
His motivation was self-serving and unreliable.
The trial is now over and the jury is set to start deliberations. Check kelownacapnews.com for updates to the story.
