Suspect creeped out campground manager

Peter Beckett is charged with 1st-degree murder in the drowning of his wife, Laura

KELOWNA — The manager of the campground where Peter Beckett and his wife were staying at the time of her death told his staff to stay away from Mr. Beckett after an intimidating encounter a few nights before the tragic incident, a Kelowna court heard Friday.

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

Colin Titsworth, the manager of Shelter Bay Provincial Park, met the Becketts in 2008 while they were camping.

Titsworth said he typically saw the Beckett couple about four nights a week, when he would attend the Shelter Bay campsite.

He described them as “very social people” who would often invite campground staff members into their motorhome for drinks and snacks.

In August 2010, Titsworth recalled seeing the Becketts on three separate occasions.

The second night, Titsworth attended their campsite to give them firewood.

“I went to deliver a bundle of firewood, and Peter wasn’t so impressed with the bundle of firewood I was delivering, so he made some comments about it, and I ended up giving them the bundle of firewood for free because he was chirping me about it,” said Titsworth.

“He was bugging me about the amount of firewood I gave him and the fact I didn’t have the weather report for him that day.”

Titsworth said he left the campsite as soon as possible, because he didn’t want to be there any longer than he had to be.

Beckett appeared intoxicated that night, said Titsworth.

“This would have been the third year I met him, and you could just tell he had been drinking throughout the day,” he said. “I normally wouldn’t see Peter that drunk.”

Laura Letts-Beckett did not appear intoxicated to him that night, he said.

The next evening, Titsworth returned to the Shelter Bay campsite, where he ran into Laura near the garbage area.

“We had a good conversation; we were laughing and joking and I actually brought down a special printed off weather report for Peter that night since he was harassing me about it the night before.”

Titsworth did not speak with Beckett that evening, but he did have an uncomfortable encounter with him, he told the jury.

“He left his site and went down into his motorboat… and he drove it out into the bay and did a loop and came back pointing towards shore… and then stood on the front of the bow and stared me down as I walked back to my truck down by the boat launch,” said Titsworth, adding Beckett had his hands on his hips as he stared at Titsworth.

“That was particularly disturbing to me as I walked down and kept looking over my shoulder at a 400-pound six-foot guy standing at the front of his boat staring me down,” he said.

“It was uncomfortable enough of a situation that I told my staff to stay away from him.”

That was the first time he had done that, he said.

This event happened around dusk, but Titsworth said he could make Beckett out clearly enough to make eye contact with him.

The trial continues.