Brandi Gray and Leigha Jones are friends of the McCourt family at the Kelowna RCMP event on July 10, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

Family and friends of a woman who has killed last week gathered in Kelowna to speak with authorities and push for systemic change.

Kelowna RCMP held a community outreach event today, July 10, in the wake of the daylight murder of Bailey McCourt last week. The man accused of murdering her, her ex-husband James Plover, made a brief first court appearance earlier that morning.

The event today was meant to give people in the community a chance to talk to police about community safety and provide emotional support for folks affected by McCourt’s murder, police said.

Leigha Jones is a friend of the McCourt family and she said there needs to be a change to how domestic violence is handled by the government.

“I'm hoping that we can all advocate for our (Members) of Parliament to advocate for this in the federal government,” she said. “I'd like to see that there's more rights for the victims, that anybody that's been charged and convicted of an aggressive offence should have very high bail settings and potentially not even be eligible for bail.”

James Edward Plover has been charged with the second-degree murder of his ex-wife Bailey McCourt on a busy street in the middle of the day July 4. That same day he was convicted of domestic violence against Bailey for uttering threats and assault by choking.

After his initial arrest, he was released the next day on a $500 cash deposit and “extensive protective conditions”. The BC Prosecution Service didn’t say what those protective conditions were.

READ MORE: Opposition MLAs demand change after Kelowna daylight murder

“He was released on a very low bail from last year,” Jones said.

People in Kelowna have been advocating for change since McCourt’s death. Former Rotary Club president Justin Wyllie put out an open letter to Kelowna MP Stephen Fuhr about the need to improve protection for survivors of domestic violence.

“I write to you today as a deeply concerned resident of Kelowna, shaken by the recent murder of Bailey McCourt — a mother, daughter, and friend whose life was stolen in broad daylight by a man with a known history of violence. Bailey’s death was preventable. Her killer should never have been free,” Wyllie said in the letter.

Kelowna Centre MLA Kristina Loewen put out a press release yesterday addressing McCourt’s murder.

“This was preventable. Bailey did everything right. She filed charges. She posted publicly about her fear. And still, despite convictions for choking and threatening her, he was allowed to walk free. That is a catastrophic failure of justice,” she said in the press release. “Kelowna isn’t just grieving, we’re furious.”

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