
No talk of custody when man was convicted of choking. Then, his ex-partner was killed
When James Plover was convicted on July 4 of choking someone and uttering threats, in a rage that also saw him destroy a table with a machete, his defence lawyer and the prosecutor took no issue with delaying his sentencing for up to 10 weeks, pending a psychiatric report.
In the meantime, the former jail guard was to be released, and a recording of the hearing in a provincial court in Kelowna, B.C., suggests there was no discussion in light of his conviction of potential risks he posed out of custody — he had already been out on $500 bail, with conditions, ahead of his hearing.
Less than three hours after the court adjourned, police were called to a parking lot about four kilometres from the courthouse, where Plover’s estranged wife, Bailey McCourt, was gravely injured in an attack.
She later died and Plover has been charged with second-degree murder in the killing.