Man asked if drowned wife would have bruises, jury told

KAMLOOPS — An off-duty paramedic who arrived at the scene after a woman’s lifeless body was brought to shore has told a jury that the victim’s husband asked him a strange question.

Former New Zealand politician Peter Beckett, 59, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Laura Letts-Beckett, who drowned in Upper Arrow Lake while the couple, from Westlock, Alta., were on vacation.

Paramedic Darrell Regts told B.C. Supreme Court he was camping with his family at Shelter Bay Provincial Park, where the Becketts were also staying.

Regts said on Aug. 18, 2010, another camper asked for help. “The lady from the campsite next door said there’d been a boating accident, a drowning,” he said. “We found a pontoon boat beached. There were two people and the decedent on board.”

The court has heard Beckett and his wife were on a Zodiac dinghy when Letts-Beckett went overboard.

Beckett told police he tried to save her and was eventually able to drag her to shore, but couldn’t revive her. He said he went out in his Zodiac to seek help from a couple in a nearby pontoon boat.

Jurors have heard the pontoon boat brought Letts-Beckett back to the campground. When Regts arrived at the beach, he said Beckett was sitting at the back of the pontoon boat looking at his wife’s body.

He said Beckett was upset after being told his wife could not be resuscitated, but then asked a strange question.

“He asked me if there was going to be bruises on his wife,” Regts said.

“I was a little taken aback. I said there might be bruises on her back where she was dragged across the rock [after being pulled to shore].”

Regts said he noticed no bruising on Letts-Beckett’s body, but he followed protocol as a precaution. “We used BCAS (B.C. Ambulance Service) guidelines and treated it as a potential crime scene,” he said. “We made sure nobody touched the body.” Regts said he called emergency crews and waited for police to arrive.

The Crown says Beckett killed his wife to cash in on insurance benefits, as well as her teacher’s pension.

Pathologist Yann Brierly has testified that the cause of death was drowning, but noted redness near Letts-Beckett’s left cheekbone.