B.C. man who killed four neighbours apologizes

A man who pleaded guilty to murdering four people in Penticton, B.C., has tearfully apologized to the victims' families in court, saying he shattered their lives when he decided to shoot their loved ones.

John Brittain, 69, told a sentencing hearing Thursday that he is sorry for the devastation he also caused his former wife, the City of Penticton and its residents, as well as police officers who responded to the carnage he caused.

Brittain later received a life sentence with no chance at parole for 25 years.

He pleaded guilty Wednesday in B.C. Supreme Court to three counts of first-degree murder and one charge of second-degree murder and told police when he turned himself in immediately after the killings on April 15, 2019, that the victims had harassed his ex-wife for years.

Brittain told the court that Katherine Brittain, whom he divorced in 2014, did not know he would use his rifles to shoot her neighbours.

The court has heard he killed Rudi Winter, Barry and Susan Wonch, and Darlene Knippelberg within a span of about 35 minutes, shooting each of them multiple times.

“If she had any idea I would do such a thing, she would have stopped me or called the police,” Brittain said. “I, only I, am fully responsible for this.”

The court heard Brittain told police he shot the victims after his former wife had repeatedly complained to him about them in connection with multiple issues that also had her filing complaints with the City of Penticton.

In one case, she said Barry and Susan Wonch were buying, fixing and selling furniture from their home without a business licence, the court heard.

Brittain said he doesn't understand why he resorted to such violence, but that the “catastrophe” came after 20 years of major depression and work stress in his engineering job.

His actions caused “unnecessary anxiety” for the citizens of Penticton, Brittain said, adding he should have been “loving and honourable to all.”

Brittain said he also devastated the lives of police officers who were left traumatized by the bloody scenes they encountered after he went from one victim's home to the next, shooting them on sight.

“I'm sure what you saw and had to deal with that day was not what you ever wanted to see or have to deal with when you entered your profession.

He continued: “I see these images in my head, and they will torment me for the rest of my life.”

The court has heard that some of the officers have not yet been able to return to work.

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