Man pleads guilty in crash that killed Mountie in British Columbia

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Fenton left the court without commenting and will appear in court in Victoria on June 6 to fix a date for a sentencing hearing.

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Fenton’s lawyer, Dale Marshall, said outside court details surrounding the circumstances of the early morning crash will become part of the court record provided during the sentencing hearing. He refused Thursday to discuss details about the accident or the guilty pleas.

McLaughlin said outside court the maximum penalty for impaired driving causing death is life in prison and for dangerous driving causing death it is 14 years.

“What’s important to realize is that we work diligently on all our cases to ensure we achieve a fair and just resolution,” he said. “This is one more step in the process of this particular case towards achieving what we hope will be a fair and just resolution.”

Beckett, a married mother of two young boys, was a Mountie for 11 years and had just returned to her job in the West Shore RCMP detachment from maternity leave shortly before her death.

Thousands of people, including a long procession of police officers from across the country, turned out for Beckett’s funeral in April.  

Colwood Mayor Carol Hamilton said she was at Thursday’s hearing to support Beckett’s family members, who attended court to hear the man’s guilty pleas.

Hamilton, who was visibly emotional, said her 19-year-old son was killed by an impaired driver in 2003.

“Just like my son, it didn’t have to happen.”

Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press