Preliminary hearing for woman charged with killing husband begins today

By Medicine Hat News on March 10, 2017.

The preliminary inquiry for a woman charged with the second-degree murder of her husband began today at the Medicine Hat courthouse.

Barbara Holmes entered a not guilty plea on Oct. 20 to the charge, and the preliminary hearing is set to wrap up on Monday. A publication ban on evidence and information said in court was put in place during Holmes’ bail hearing in June, which extends until the end of the hearing or trial.

The murder charge was laid after police were called to Holmes’s residence on June 18, and found her 51-year-old husband John suffering numerous injuries. He was transported to Medicine Hat Regional Hospital where he later died.

Originally charged with aggravated assault, Holmes’s charges were upgraded upon the victim’s death.

Holmes is being represented by local defence lawyer Clinton Yarshenko after switching counsel in September.

She has been in custody at the Lethbridge Remand Centre since her first lawyer ran a bail hearing in June, but she was denied release.