Man accused of killing his wife wanted no witnesses, trial told

Former cellmate testifies he was offered money to ‘take care of witnesses’

A man accused of murdering his wife while on vacation in Revelstoke in 2010 offered his former cellmate money in exchange for “taking care” of witnesses, a Kelowna court heard Tuesday.

Peter Beckett, a former city councillor in the New Zealand city of Napier, is charged with first-degree murder in the drowning of his wife, Laura, in a remote bay on Upper Arrow Lake on Aug. 18, 2010.

Beckett was arrested and charged in August 2011.

On July 13, 2012, he was placed in a cell at the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre with Robert Anderson.

Anderson was moved to an empty cell on July 16, 2012, but the two men had already developed a relationship and continued to talk every day, Anderson told the jury.

“He explained to me he was out boating in a Zodiac with his wife and told me he was positioned in a way where he was facing the stern of the boat . . . and his wife was up front at the bow, and (he) said he didn’t notice she’d fallen off and as the boat travelled he could see her flailing underwater,” said Anderson. “I explained to him I had a lot of experience on the water and I said a Zodiac is a buoyant boat . . . and (with) a guy your size in a Zodiac, sitting in the stern . . . that bow would have been standing straight in the air as soon as she fell off, and how you wouldn’t hear that or feel that in the back of the boat would be next to impossible.”

From there, Beckett’s story evolved, said Anderson.

“He said perhaps she quietly lowered herself off the boat kind of stealth-like and dropped into the water and sunk like a rock, and I said that’s not possible.”

Beckett’s statement to police was that his wife fell off the boat and he tried unsuccessfully to save her.

Beckett spoke to Anderson on multiple occasions about paying Anderson a retainer, he told the jury.

“The retainer was to take care of witnesses,” said Anderson. “He started going on more and more how we could live lavish lifestyles on the outs.”

Beckett specifically mentioned the possibility of the two of them relocating to Costa Rica, said Anderson.

“He said if things were handled accordingly in his case, there was a lot of money coming his way.”

The Crown argues Beckett was trying to cash in a $200,000 life insurance policy for accidental death that he had taken out on his wife two months before she died.

On Aug. 4, 2012, Anderson received an unexpected canteen package from Beckett, containing various items including junk food, he said.

“(Canteen) is the new currency in prison now since they’ve taken tobacco out,” he said.

Anderson said he continued to receive bags of canteen items from Beckett weekly.

The trial continues.