A man charged with murder is now also charged with trying to get someone to kill the witnesses scheduled to testify against him.
A four-month investigation has concluded with additional charges - counselling to commit murder and obstruction of justice - against Peter Ernest Edward Beckett who is charged with murdering his Revelstoke wife. The investigation was conducted by the RCMP's southeast district major crime unit based in Kelowna with the assistance of the B.C. Provincial Corrections Service.
"Fortunately, this police investigation prevented any harm or loss of life from coming to these individuals," said RCMP Corp. Dan Moskaluk. Beckett, 56, was arrested Monday at the Surrey Pre-trial Centre where he was awaiting trial for the first-degree murder of Laura Letts-Beckett.
An investigation into the cause of her death near Revelstoke in August of 2010 concluded it was homicide. After a lengthy investigation, Beckett was arrested nearly a year later and has been in custody since then. Project E-Pedlar began in August of this year and focused on allegations that Beckett was attempting to influence the outcome of the upcoming criminal proceedings related to his first-degree murder charge.
Beckett is alleged to have counselled someone to commit the murders of witnesses. He made his first court appearance in the new charges on Tuesday.