During the fourth day of the attempted murder trial for Kevin Barrett on Thursday (Jan. 21), a court heard further witness reports detailing both the condition of Eleanor Holmes and the arrest of her son.
After authorities discovered Eleanor Holmes on Westside Road, RCMP attended her home and found Barrett inside. Barrett is accused of the attempted murder and aggravated assault of his mother, Holmes, found by two passersby on the side of a forest service road outside West Kelowna on April 29, 2019.
Holmes was found off the side of Bear Lake Main Road by two strangers, beaten and covered in blood, lying on a piece of machinery. They took her to meet paramedics on Westside Road.
READ MORE: ‘Just a blood bath’: Woman recounts finding victim during West Kelowna attempted murder trial
The court heard that after attending the scene off Westside Road, police rushed to a residence in a mobile home park on Highway 97, where they spotted Barrett through the front window.
After some time officers eventually arrested a “fairly calm” but “confused” Barrett. Before the arrest, Barrett had called police himself, reporting the “strangers” outside the home.
A hammer, which police testified may have been used in the alleged assault, was found on the coffee table inside.
RCMP noted no one else was at the home, saying it was a “quiet night.” Holmes’ vehicle was located a few hundred meters away from her trailer, on a dead-end road.
Paramedics also testified to Holmes’ injuries, noting severe right eye pain and swelling, bruising to the stomach, possible fracture of the right wrist and skin torn off the left wrist.
Doctors at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) reported extensive bruising to Holmes’ entire face, with her left eyelids so swollen shut, it was difficult to examine the eye.
Dr. Jeffrey Eppler, Trauma Team Leader at KGH tended to Holmes that night.
Holmes’ white blood cell count, which is released under physiological stress, measured 36.8, something Epplar classified as, “incredibly high.” A normal measurement, he said, is 10.
“I rarely see that numbers that high outside of Leukemia. But from infection or stress, that’s something I would see maybe once a year, to see a number that high,” Eppler said.
The trial is expected to continue next week.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:Â phil.mclachlan@kelownacapnews.com
Â
@newspaperphilLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
