Former Napier councillor who overturned murder conviction headed back to court

Peter Beckett is suing for the return of a motorhome he says was wrongfully sold. Photo Supplied

A former Napier city councillor who spent time behind bars for the 2010 murder of his wife before successfully appealing the conviction is headed to court again — this time suing in Canada for the return of a motorhome he says was wrongfully sold.

However, the person he's suing said that the tale he's telling isn't quite right, Global News reported.

According to civil court documents filed earlier this year by former Hawke's Bay resident Peter Beckett, he had been the sole registered owner of the 2007 Fleetwood Revolution 40LE Motorhome when it was sold out from under him.

Upper Arrow Lake, where Laura Letts Beckett was thought to have drowned. Photo Supplied

He said the vehicle that he and his late wife had been staying in at the time of her death was bought for US$196,000 and that Brian Graham, the defendant, wrongly sold it for US$17,501 sometime in November 2016 to offset storage charges.

Beckett claims that Graham refuses to give him details about the purchaser or possible location.

Beckett is therefore asking the court to issue an order directing the motorhome be returned to him, a judgment of US$200,000 for loss and damages resulting from Graham's conduct, and for his expenses to be covered.

Graham, however, offered a brief statement of defence in October.
The court document states that the motorhome was initially stored in October of 2012 and that the plaintiff initially made payments toward storage costs.

"The motorhome was legally sold in June of 2014 and the plaintiff was notified of the sale on or about that date," reads the response.

The matter has yet to go to court and no allegations have been proven.

Beckett stood trial twice for the murder of his wife, Laura Letts-Beckett, who drowned while the couple was out boating in Revelstoke, Canada, in 2010.

The first trial in 2016 resulted in a hung jury, but he was convicted of first-degree murder during the second trial in 2017.

The B.C. Court of Appeal quashed his conviction in September 2020.

Instead of following through on a third trial, the Crown decided to stay the proceedings and release Beckett from prison.

- Global News