NEWS FILE PHOTO
A member of the Medicine Hat Police Service's Forensic Unit investigates following a murder at a home on Robinson Drive SE on June 18. On March 10 on the first day of a preliminary hearing a judge ordered Barbara Holmes to stand trial for the murder of her husband John. A trial date has not been set.
prevell@medicinehatnews.com @MHNprevell
A Medicine Hat woman will stand trial for the murder of her husband.
The decision was the outcome of a preliminary hearing held on Friday, with a judge ordering that Barbara Holmes will stand over second-degree murder charges.
While the preliminary inquiry was scheduled to run for two days, the decision was made on the first day.
A trial date has yet to be set.
The 51-year-old woman entered a not guilty plea on Oct. 20 to the charge. A publication ban on evidence and information said in court was put in place during Holmes’ bail hearing in June and extends until the trial.
Holmes was arrested after police were called to her 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 has been held in custody at the Lethbridge Remand Centre since a bail hearing in June, where she was denied release.
