GUILTY Canada - Four people dead after a shooting spree, Penticton, B.C., Apr 2019 * Arrest*

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A map, identifying location of the ex-wife’s home and the victims.

upload_2019-4-17_18-7-25.jpeg

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...mbers-victims-of-penticton-shooting-1.5102602

This article identifies the 3rd and 4th victims, a married couple who’d only moved there a year ago from another town not too far away, remembered as the “best neighbours” by a person who lived right next to them in the past.

Over the years I’ve visited the area in the summer from time to time. I think Penticton is a beautiful place, situated in the Okanagan Valley that is well known for such things as mild winters, wineries and beautiful lakes and therefore is a very popular area for retirees from all over to chose to move to. It’s impossible for me to imagine what could’ve went so wrong, apparently over nothing but petty neighbourhood spats.
 
“Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, (The) Penticton Mayor said Brittain worked for the city's engineering department for several years until his retirement "due to an illness" in 2016.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/penticton-shooting-1.5099775


“Brittain seems to have flown under the radar since he retired in 2014 from his job as a development engineer for the City of Penticton.”
Accused killer of 4 in Penticton an ex-city engineer

I notice various stories about JB’s employment with the City of Pentiction refer to different dates. Reading between the lines, it’s possible he was on disability leave between 2014-2016, then in 2016 after he’d reached the pensionable age of 65 he “retired” although he’d only worked there 5 years. I wonder if the “illness” was some type of mental disability. But then in 2017 it’s reported he was hired by a private company, again working as an engineer and he’s now 68. Financial issues? Unknown is anything about his background prior to his 60s.
 
Rather interesting, how stories about the estranged wife’s grievances against her neighbours continue to be highlighted by the media, yet police say they’re still investigating a possible motive for the tragic shootings.

“On Wednesday, Global News asked Ms. Brittain what her concerns with her neighbours were and whether they could have been related to the alleged crimes. Ms. Brittain declined to comment.

Police haven’t commented on the theory of a neighbour dispute and said they are investigating a potential motive....

.....Penticton’s bylaw department confirmed to Global News that it handled six complaint files about residences on Cornwall Drive over several years, including complaints related to woodburning smoke, landscaping and on-site drainage related matters and a home business operating without a licence.

The city confirmed that there were a number of calls around each file.

The ex-official described the campaign against neighbours as relentless, with several complaints flooding into city hall in 2017. The source alleges when officials stopped returning calls, complaints were made under a different name.....”
Penticton mass shooting neighbourhood saw dozens of bylaw complaint calls: ex-city officials
 
This is the first report mentioning where JB lived. So it appears be began the shooting from his rented residence, allegedly killing his first victim who was working across the street but who was also the next door neighbour of his estranged wife.

“Brittain’s first alleged victim, Rudi Winter, lived next to Kathy Brittain on the opposite side of Kozari’s house. He was killed 4 1/2 kilometres away while doing yard work for friends across the street from where John Brittain had rented a house on Lakeview Street...”
Police cordon off home of alleged gunman's ex-wife
 
Another person speaking to the media, this one was JB’s landlord who had been inside his apartment.

“Friesen told the Star that Brittain had just a cot in his apartment, along with a guitar, a bicycle and a keyboard. He also said Brittain wouldn’t park his car in the driveway and would sometimes park it far down the road. He said the black Volkswagen Jetta was something Brittain worried that “riff raff” would break into. Bartlett also said he had been in Brittain’s suite a few times and had never seen a gun...”
https://www.columbiavalleypioneer.com/news/landlord-of-alleged-okanagan-shooter-recounts-deadly-day/
 
MistyWaters said:
Another person speaking to the media, this one was JB’s landlord who had been inside his apartment.

“Friesen told the Star that Brittain had just a cot in his apartment, along with a guitar, a bicycle and a keyboard. He also said Brittain wouldn’t park his car in the driveway and would sometimes park it far down the road. He said the black Volkswagen Jetta was something Brittain worried that “riff raff” would break into. Bartlett also said he had been in Brittain’s suite a few times and had never seen a gun...”
https://www.columbiavalleypioneer.com/news/landlord-of-alleged-okanagan-shooter-recounts-deadly-day/
Click to expand...

[bbm]

how would parking it down the street stop the 'riff raff' from breaking into it?
 
MistyWaters said:
This is the first report mentioning where JB lived. So it appears be began the shooting from his rented residence, allegedly killing his first victim who was working across the street but who was also the next door neighbour of his estranged wife.

“Brittain’s first alleged victim, Rudi Winter, lived next to Kathy Brittain on the opposite side of Kozari’s house. He was killed 4 1/2 kilometres away while doing yard work for friends across the street from where John Brittain had rented a house on Lakeview Street...”
Police cordon off home of alleged gunman's ex-wife
Click to expand...
Interesting that JB is charged with 2nd degree murder in the death of Rudi Winters. That implies it wasn't premeditated, JB saw him working across from his home, became enraged, grabbed a rifle (was he a hunter?), and killed him.

Then, having committed one murder, possibly he decided he may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, and went after a few more neighbours

The motive is the puzzler. Since he himself was not living there, why would he be angry at the neighbours? Did he blame them for the breakdown of his marriage?

Or was he also really bothered by the neighbours but encouraged his wife to do the complaining, since he was former staff?

Possibly the neighbours became scapegoats for these people's major problems. People without much self-awareness or emotional intelligence will pick on an easy target rather than confront someone they see as powerful. So, if someone's enraged at their boss, but they can't express that to them, they may attack the barista for incompetence, etc.
 
Satchie said:
Interesting that JB is charged with 2nd degree murder in the death of Rudi Winters. That implies it wasn't premeditated, JB saw him working across from his home, became enraged, grabbed a rifle (was he a hunter?), and killed him.

Then, having committed one murder, possibly he decided he may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, and went after a few more neighbours

The motive is the puzzler. Since he himself was not living there, why would he be angry at the neighbours? Did he blame them for the breakdown of his marriage?

Or was he also really bothered by the neighbours but encouraged his wife to do the complaining, since he was former staff?

Possibly the neighbours became scapegoats for these people's major problems. People without much self-awareness or emotional intelligence will pick on an easy target rather than confront someone they see as powerful. So, if someone's enraged at their boss, but they can't express that to them, they may attack the barista for incompetence, etc.
Click to expand...

I’m puzzled why JB was only charged with 2nd degree for murdering the first victim as well.

You’re right, the neighbours could’ve just been scapegoats for an angry man who lost his grip on life.

My only wild guess is so totally ridiculous I almost hate to mention it. But if the estranged wife was as critical toward her ex-husband as her neighbours he might’ve committed murder in a warped way just to please her, especially if he was also dealing with his own personal issues, depression or low sense of self worth. For example, it seems she may have been chronically obsessed and therefore may have expected JB to resolve her problems and endless grief with her neighbours, although in reality the issues existed only in her head. Therefore as resolution was absolutely impossible, JB eventually took action in a very tragic way that more or less made a statement of “well they’re gone now, I hope you’re happy.” :(
 
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Double post.
 

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Man accused of Penticton shooting spree makes court appearance

JB is shown in a video on the above link on his perp walk. Just by appearances alone, he looks like a senior with a prior professional career who ought to be tending his yard in shorts and shirtsleeves instead of getting into a police van wearing handcuffs. What caused this man to go off the deep end and take the lives of four people is still unknown.
 
MistyWaters said:
Man accused of Penticton shooting spree makes court appearance

JB is shown in a video on the above link on his perp walk. Just by appearances alone, he looks like a senior with a prior professional career who ought to be tending his yard in shorts and shirtsleeves instead of getting into a police van wearing handcuffs. What caused this man to go off the deep end and take the lives of four people is still unknown.
Click to expand...
It strikes me as very peculiar that a 68 year old with a career as a municipal engineer had been living for five years in a rental apartment with only a cot, a bicycle, and two musical instruments; that he was separated from his wife but she kept the marital home and he was often there, according to a neighbour. That would suggest to me he hoped to get back with his wife in his old home, he wasn't moving on. For eg, someone like that could easily find a girlfriend, I would think.

One idea that occurs to me, if he was severely depressed or had some other mental disorder, and was suicidal. I have a theory that some suicidal people, especially men, can't seem to just kill themselves, instead they turn that violence outwards and kill other people. For eg, that may have been the motive of the Vegas shooter.

Such a person would be caught up in some very distorted thoughts, like maybe blaming the people who upset his wife, or being jealous that they were happily married couples who had what he'd never have.
 
The preliminary inquiry of JB is set for Jan 27-31st. In the link below it also mentions a no-contact order has been filed between the ex-wife and JB as she may be required to testify.


https://www.thefreepress.ca/news/ex...oter-called-a-conspirator-in-civil-lawsuit-2/

“The daughter of a couple that was shot and killed in Penticton in April has filed a civil lawsuit against the alleged shooter and his ex-wife, claiming she was a “conspirator.”.......

......In a response to the civil claim Katherine Brittain stated that she has nothing to do with the deaths of the Wonchs and “had no idea that John Brittain would kill them, if he did.” The court document further states the defendant is not liable for events outside of her knowledge and control.

John Brittain also submitted a response denying all of the claims made by Young.....”
 
Brittain has pleaded guilty. His motive, apparently, was to stop these neighbours from 'bullying' his wife. Evidently, he listened to her complaints for years and believed her to be an innocent victim of some kind of terrible conspiracy against her. He denies she knew anything about his plans.

Brittain says 4 murder vicims bullied his wife

Unfortunately, all the news coverage is in the journalistic present tense, ie "He says", "He told the judge".

This is incorrect, false and distorting. The stories themselves reveal that the Crown prosecutor read his words from the transcript of the police interview that occurred back in April 2019. We don't know how he feels about the murders right now, whether he still believes these people bullied his wife, or if he has formed another opinion after sitting in jail, with no contact with her, for the last 18 months.
 
Satchie said:
Brittain has pleaded guilty. His motive, apparently, was to stop these neighbours from 'bullying' his wife. Evidently, he listened to her complaints for years and believed her to be an innocent victim of some kind of terrible conspiracy against her. He denies she knew anything about his plans.

Brittain says 4 murder vicims bullied his wife

Unfortunately, all the news coverage is in the journalistic present tense, ie "He says", "He told the judge".

This is incorrect, false and distorting. The stories themselves reveal that the Crown prosecutor read his words from the transcript of the police interview that occurred back in April 2019. We don't know how he feels about the murders right now, whether he still believes these people bullied his wife, or if he has formed another opinion after sitting in jail, with no contact with her, for the last 18 months.
Click to expand...

Interesting, thanks for the update. You’re right, we don’t know if he still continues to believe his wife was relentlessly bullied or if now realizes he was only hearing her side of things. It’s a tragedy for sure, the lost lives but also that an ex-husband would commit such awful atrocities believing it would somehow be helpful. Perhaps when he’s sentenced he will speak as surely the families who lost their loved ones deserve to hear of his remorse, if he has any.
 
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