Peter Beckett trial: Ex-cellmate prompted by sister's murder

Peter Beckett claimed he did not immediately notice his wife had fallen from the bow of their inflatable dinghy, a witness says. Photo / Supplied

A one-time cellmate of murder-accused former Napier city councillor Peter Beckett has told a court in Canada the murder of his own sister was one of his reasons for telling police Beckett was plotting to kill key witnesses.

The man told the British Columbia Supreme Court in Kelowna that Beckett, now 60, told him in Fraser Regional Correctional Centre in July 2012 that he didn't deserve to be charged with the murder of wife and Canadian schoolteacher Laura Letts-Beckett who was initially reported to have drowned when she died in Upper Arrow Lake on August 18, 2010.

The cellmate did not believe Beckett's claims that he failed to notice Letts-Beckett had fallen off the bow of their inflatable dinghy until it was too late.

Beckett, the cellmate said, was more than 2m and about 180kg - and said he was in the stern when the fall happened.

He couldn't see how Beckett, who claimed to have been facing the stern and fishing, would not have noticed immediately, and told the court: "I said that bow would have been standing straight in the air as soon as she fell off. How you didn't feel that or hear that in the boat, it's impossible."

"And I said: 'Is that your story, is that what you said to police?' And he said: 'Yeah'. And I said: 'You're f***ed'."

Beckett was sure, however, that because of other evidence he would get convicted. He was particularly concerned about one woman's evidence, and the inmate told jurors: "I said if she showed up, you're done."

He said it seemed to trigger a reaction and a week later, after the cellmate had changed cells, Beckett turned up at his cell door with a bail form highlighting the people with whom he was to have no contact, including the female witness, the Letts family and their lawyer.

Beckett knew he was about to be freed and knew "shady characters" on the outside, and started "going on about" the money available from wills, properties and life insurance, seemed to try to win favour by bringing him weekly canteen supplies, and talked a lot about moving to Costa Rica together if only the cellmate could kill the Letts family and the witnesses.

The cellmate decided to send a letter to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and told Justice Alison Beames and a jury of seven men and five women: "The case started to bother me. I think a lot of the reason I contacted [the RCMP investigator] was my sister was murdered and it tore my family to pieces. This kept eating me. I was thinking about what that family was going through."

Beckett has been in jail since his arrest 12 months after the death. The Crown is calling 19 witnesses in the trial, which started on Monday and is expected to end late in the first week of December.