Kelowna Law Courts

(KATHY MICHAELS / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kelowna man with a history of domestic violence will likely spend a few months under house arrest after he assaulted his partner and headbutted a neighbour during a violent outburst.

On July 15, at the Kelowna Courthouse, Larrabie Cole Bechdholt, who goes by the name Cole, pleaded guilty to the violent incident against the mother of his child, and lawyers put forward a joint submission for three months' house arrest.

While judges largely have to follow the sentencing suggestion in a joint submission, BC Provincial Court Judge Michelle Daneliuk wanted more information.

"I have no risk assessment before me... I have no psychological component...  I have no pre-sentence report," Judge Daneliuk told Crown prosecutor Brock Bellrichard and defence lawyer Melissa Lowe. "Normally, with somebody without a history (of domestic violence), this would not be a terrible concern, if there was no history."

Judge Daneliuk pointed out that two former partners of the 33-year-old had to get restraining orders against him, and he'd also spent 30 days in jail after threatening his current partner on two occasions.

"The safety of the community has to be the court's priority," the judge said.

The current incident dates back to November 2024, when Bechdholt got into an argument with his partner after her 10-year-old had used a bowl and not a plate while the family were having pizza for dinner.

Bechdholt, who suffers from bipolar and hadn't taken his meds, had been drinking and the couple got into an argument. He threw pizza at the wall and then a chopping board, which hit his partner and cut her face.

"This fight and his behaviour happened in front, in the presence of... (her) 10-year-old son, as well as their two-year-old child," the Crown prosecutor told the court.

Hearing the commotion, one of the neighbours in the apartment building went out into the hallway, and the police were called.

The neighbour asked what was going on, and while it's not clear what happened, the neighbour was restraining Bechdholt, who had a bloody nose, when police arrived.

One woman who had gone into Bechdholt's apartment to see if his partner was OK, was standing in the hallway when the RCMP got there. Even though Bechdholt was being escorted by police he managed to headbutt her while walking down the corridor.

The RCMP then pounced, and it took four officers to get him out of the apartment building.

Bechdholt spent 43 days in jail before getting bail.

The court heard how Bechdholt struggled with substance abuse and bipolar disorder.

After he got bail, he went to rehab, was sober for five months and made numerous strides in his life.

Bellrichard said he would have asked for jail time if Bechdholt hadn't made strides in his recovery. He had since moved out and gotten his own place, and he was sharing custody of their child, which was going well.

The partner thought there was potential for the relationship to work again, but she was cautious.

The judge said she wasn't opposed to the sentence of house arrest but wanted more information and a psychiatrist's report before agreeing to it.

Ultimately, the judge ordered the psychiatric assessment, which will take a few months, and released Bechdholt back into the community on bail.

The case offers a window into how the courts deal with domestic abuse, a week after the high-profile case of a Kelowna woman who was killed. Her former husband is charged with her first degree murder, the day he was convicted of choking a former partner and uttering threats.

The daytime killing caused outrage that he was released that day, and renewed calls for tougher action against men who commit domestic violence.

On July 15, when Bechdholt pleaded guilty, roughly 15% of the 100 or so cases heard at the Kelowna courthouse that day involved intimate partner violence. The cases ranged from uttering threats to manslaughter.

Statistics show that 80% of those who have experienced intimate partner violence and 94% of sexual assault survivors do not report the crime.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2025