The trial of a Penticton man accused of killing his common law wife has been adjourned until Friday.
Keith Gregory Wiens, 57, was charged with the second-degree murder of Lynn Kalmring, who was victim of a gun shot wound to her head in the couple’s gated community residence in Sandbridge. The second week of the trial was slated to begin on Monday when a delay kept the jury from the courtroom for most of the morning. When they did return they were told there was an adjournment granted and to come back on Monday. The crown and defence will meet in the courthouse this Friday. The delay is causing more emotional turmoil for the family of Kalmring who have sat through the trial so far.
“This is an emotional ride for the family. We have paid for accommodations, my office got me a condo and my other sisters are staying at a campsite which is not comfortable. We have all taken our vacation days and paid for accommodations until the end of the month. We have spent thousands on accommodations and being here away from family and friends,” said Kalmring’s sister, Donna Irwin. “I don’t think people realize what the victims, the family have to go through. They just hear about the criminals and we just sit here and wait and hope.”
Irwin said although sitting in the courtroom listening to gruesome details that they have not heard before is tough, it is the only thing they can do to seek justice for Kalmring.
“We just want to get it done and see justice for Lynn. We have been there every single day and heard details we didn’t want to hear and we’ve seen pictures we shouldn’t have seen,” said Irwin, through sobs. “I’ve seen some of the crime scene photographs that are really disturbing. Lynn didn’t deserve to die this way and he (Wiens) just sits there with this arrogant, smug look on his face every single day.”
So far the jury heard evidence from Kalmring’s family members, RCMP officers and experts. Testimony given to date painted the scene of an argument over money and Kalmring only working part-time. The jury heard that household financial documents and $2,005 U.S. with a ring placed on top of it were found in the couple’s kitchen island when RCMP arrived after Wiens called 911 to say he had shot his wife, it was a “big huge mistake” and “something got out of hand here tonight.”
Crown counsel Colin Forsythe asked the jury to consider if the 30-centimetre knife found in Kalmring’s left hand while she lay on her back dead in the couple’s bedroom had been strategically placed.
Last week RCMP forensic specialist Cpl. France Burke told the court she found no fingerprints on the gun or the knife, nor did she detect any blood on the gun’s barrel or anywhere else in the home, besides the bedroom.