Peter Hunt and Alexandria Davies set off into the West Kelowna bush hoping for a relaxing evening around a fire, back in April 2019.
But their night changed when they stumbled upon a beaten and bloodied woman at the side of the road.
Davies was called to testify at the attempted murder trial of Kevin Lee Barrett in Kelowna Supreme Court. Barrett is accused of the attempted murder and aggravated assault of his mother, Eleanor Holmes, the same woman Davies found on the side of a forest service road outside West Kelowna on April 29, 2019.
Barrett pleaded not guilty to all charges at the start of the trial on Monday, Jan. 18.
Davies on Tuesday told the court she and Hunt were driving to have a fire and collect garbage about 15 kilometres up Hidden Creek Road, on Bear Lake Main Road. As they were driving they saw what they thought was an injured man about 400 meters off the side of the road.
READ MORE: West Kelowna man charged with attempted murder of 79-year-old mother back in court
Putting the truck in reverse, they noticed it was an elderly woman, covered in blood, sitting on a piece of machinery.
Davies said they found “A woman with no shoes on, blood all over, one eye was completely shut, hair missing, just a blood bath.”
The elderly woman asked for help and said her son had tried to kill her, according to Davies’ testimony. The couple retreated to their vehicle to call 911, fearing an assailant might still be in the area.
The two then helped Holmes into their vehicle and transported her into the care of paramedics at Westside Road, who rushed Holmes to hospital.
“She was extremely confused, she was in a lot of pain, she was confused more than anything really,” said Davies.
During Davies’ testimony, Barrett sat at the back of the courtroom, dressed in orange, leaning over, his head turned away from the witness with his eyes closed.
West Kelowna RCMP Cpl. Vince Reddekopp also took the stand on Tuesday, explaining police responded to the incident and visited Holmes in the hospital, finding her suffering from injuries to her face and hands. At the time police suspected her son, Barrett, was responsible for the assault.
After arresting Barrett at Holmes’ residence in the 1900-block of Highway 97, police obtained a search warrant and seized numerous items, taken as evidence. These included a hammer, several articles of clothing, shoes and a reflective jacket which was shown to the court.
The trial is expected to continue for the next two weeks.
READ MORE: Assault on elderly West Kelowna woman now attempted murder charge
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