Black Press
The man accused of killing Brittney Irving, a North Okanagan woman who vanished after attending an apparent drug deal in 2010, is seeking to have his trial moved out of Kelowna.
The court heard Monday that Joelon Verma’s lawyer has applied for a change of venue.
That legal remedy is typically sought if the defence feels pre-trial publicity has prejudiced an accused person’s ability to get a fair jury trial in the city where the crime they are alleged to have committed occurred.
Verma was arrested in connection with the 24-year-old Irving’s death on June 25, 2010, two and a half months after she vanished.
The Kelowna woman was reported missing on April 7, 2010, and her Ford Explorer was found abandoned the same day on Philpott Road.
According to those who knew her, she was allegedly taking part in a drug transaction of some sort the last day she was seen.
Weeks after her disappearance, police announced Irving’s body had been found.
Police never disclosed the location of her body, nor the cause of her death.
Verma’s case returns to court Dec. 14. He remains in custody.
