Sentencing hearing continues today for Penticton mass murderer | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Kamloops News

Sentencing hearing continues today for Penticton mass murderer

RCMP officers continue to work outside a crime scene at the corner of Cornwall Drive in Penticton, B.C., on Tuesday April 16, 2019. A sentencing hearing is scheduled to continue today, Oct. 15, 2020 for a man who pleaded guilty to four murders last year in Penticton, B.C.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff Bassett

KELOWNA, B.C. - A sentencing hearing is scheduled to continue today for a man who pleaded guilty to four murders last year in Penticton, B.C.

John Brittain pleaded guilty Wednesday in B.C. Supreme Court to three charges of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder.

The court heard the 69-year-old man killed Rudi Winter, Barry and Susan Wonch, and Darlene Knippelberg on April 15, 2019, shooting each of them multiple times.

Crown attorney Colin Forsyth said Brittain explained to a police interviewer that the victims, who were all neighbours, had been harassing his ex-wife for years.

First- and second-degree murder convictions carry automatic life sentences.

Parole eligibility for first-degree murder is set at 25 years, while it is between 10 and 25 years for second-degree murder.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2020.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2020
The Canadian Press

  • Popular vernon News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile