Convicted murderer continues to haunt his victim’s family
A former Summerland RCMP officer convicted of murdering his common-law wife six years ago is still battling her family in court over division of their estate, CBC News is reporting.
Lynn Kalmring died Aug. 16, 2011 when she was shot once in the face in the bedroom of the Penticton home she shared with Keith Wiens, who is now serving a life sentence for second-degree murder.
According to the CBC, Wiens is still fighting Kalmring’s family over the division of $500,000 in joint assets, which include homes in Penticton and Arizona.
Wiens reportedly continues to deny responsibility for Kalmring’s death and is acting as his own lawyer while behind bars in an Ontario prison, which has only complicated matters and contributed to her family’s $45,000 legal bill. “This can therefore only be viewed as vindictive and callous and targeted to cause further trauma and grief to the family,” Kalmring family lawyer Christopher Watson wrote in a letter to Wiens, the CBC reported.
Kalmring’s sister told the national broadcaster the family continues to feel victimized and dreads the prospect of potentially facing Wiens in person in court.
“I haven’t even had time to grieve for my sister because from the moment he shot her I’ve been fighting for her,” said Donna Irwin, who’s also the executrix of Kalmring’s estate
“It’s not like we’re asking for anything more than she would be entitled to if it were a divorce. That’s the disturbing part of this.”
Wiens, who retired in 2001 as commander of the Summerland detachment following a 26-year career with the RCMP, admitted at trial that he shot Kalmring, but argued he did so in self-defence because the 55-year-old Kalmring was in a rage and had armed herself with a knife following an argument.
The trial heard the knife was easily removed from Kalmring’s hand by a police officer approximately 10 hours after she died, leading the Crown to suggest it was placed there by Wiens after the fact to bolster his claim of self-defence.
It took a jury just hours to return a guilty verdict, after which Wiens was sentenced in 2013 to life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 13 years. He later took his case to the Supreme Court of Canada, which in 2016 declined to hear his appeal.
At the time of his arrest, Wiens was working as a bus driver for the Okanagan Skaha School District, then placed on unpaid leave after his arrest while awaiting the outcome of his trial.
In June 2015, an arbitrator ordered the district to pay him a $2,300 retirement benefit sought on his behalf by the Canadian Union of Public Employees.