Son gets 6 years for leaving mother to die
A man from West Kelowna, who attacked his then 79-year-old mother, beating and choking her, throwing her down a 100-metre embankment off a lonely logging road and leaving her bloodied, beaten and unconscious to die, has been handed a six-year jail sentence.
Kevin Lee Barrett, 61, who has been held in custody since his arrest in April 2019, will serve 3 1/2 more years in jail after being given credit for time served while awaiting his trial.
The Crown prosecutor in the case had asked for a sentence of eight to nine years in prison for Barrett, while Barrett’s lawyer wanted 4 1/2 years in jail, plus three years of probation.
In B.C. Supreme Court in Kelowna on Friday, Judge Steven Wilson, who called the April 29, 2019 attack on Elinor Holmes an “extremely vicious attack,” a “sad case” and a “cowardly unprovoked surprise attack on a frail elderly woman,” said he was imposing a sentence at the high end of the sentencing norm for aggravated assault. Aggravated assault can carry a maximum 14-year sentence in prison, but the B.C Court of Appeal has set the norm at between 17 months and six years, said Wilson.
“This was an extremely vicious attack with blows to the head, body and limbs, a very nasty bite on the hand, with hand fulls of her hair torn out of her scalp,” the judge said. “This would have undoubtably been an event of terrifying brutality for the victim.”
He said while she has recovered from many of her physical injuries, the mental injury could remain with her much longer. Holmes survived the attack, climbed up the embankment after regaining consciousness despite her injuries and was rescued by a couple who were out walking in the area.
On Friday, she sat at the back of the public galley wearing a mask due to COVID-19 protocols that hid her facial expression and listened to the judge pass sentence on her son. She then left quietly, declining to comment.
Holmes told investigators last year it was as if her son had turned into “Satan himself” during the attack, adding she loved her son and forgave him for what he had done to her.
But she said she was terrified of him now. Wilson noted Barrett attacked the one person who helped him when many others did not.
Originally charged with attempted murder, Barrett made a surprise plea to aggravated assault seven days into his trial earlier this week. He made the plea just before his now 80-year-old mother was to testify.
Barrett is bipolar, claimed h suffered abuse as a child and has had alcohol abuse issues. He was convicted for two acts of violence in the past, and was on probation for the second one when he attacked his mother.
The attack of his mother was prompted by her refusal to let him drive her car because he did not have a licence.
The judge noted Barrett’s refusal to take his medication for his bipolar disorder and said he took that into account in determining the sentence.
Barrett’s lawyer had argued his client’s mental illness should be a mitigating factor in sentencing but Wilson disagreed because Barrett had a history of not taking his medication.
In addition to the prison sentence, Barrett was also ordered to submit a DNA sample, banned from ever owning a firearm and ordered to have no contact with his mother during his prison sentence.