Grieving family begins lengthy legal process seeking justice for slain Kelowna woman

Debbie Henderson knows she and her family are in for a lengthy and painful legal process and trial as they seek justice for their loved one.

“I will come here every time to support Bailey’s memory, to honour Bailey,” said Debbie Henderson, Bailey McCourt’s aunt and family spokesperson.

Henderson was at the Kelowna, B.C., courthouse on Tuesday as James Plover, charged in connection with the killing of her niece Bailey McCourt, briefly appeared by video before a justice of the peace.

Plover, who is McCourt’s estranged husband, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of the mother of two children.

Tuesday’s court appearance related to the upgraded first-degree murder charge, which was announced on Nov. 17.

The original charge of second-degree murder was stayed.

A conviction of first-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

“We’ve had to wait four-and-a-half months for these charges to be upgraded from second degree to first degree,” Henderson said outside the courthouse. “That’s agonizing.”

McCourt was badly beaten in a Kelowna parking lot on July 4. She died shortly after.

Her friend, Carrie Wiebe, was seriously injured in the attack and was hospitalized.

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The attack on McCourt happened just hours after Plover was convicted on charges of assault by choking and uttering threats related to an incident a year earlier.

A publication ban prevents the release the name of the victim in that 2024 incident.

Plover will be sentenced in connection with the 2024 charges on Thursday.

His next court appearance on the murder charge is scheduled for Jan. 13.

While no trial date has been set in what is typically a lengthy legal process, Henderson said reliving it all will be very painful.

“I think it will be gut-wrenching, I think it will be absolutely gut-wrenching,” Henderson said. “We have to live with what Bailey looked like after she was attacked. That’s not something I would want anybody to see and I think hearing about it, it’s going to just keep bringing that up over and over, so I think it’s going to be absolutely hard.”

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McCourt’s family plans on attending every court appearance while fighting for changes they believe are badly needed to make laws around intimate partner violence harsher.

“The gaps in the system need to be fixed,” Henderson said.

Calling it Bailey’s Law, the family is calling on a number of changes to better protect victims of domestic violence.

The cause is being spearheaded by Frank Caputo, Conservative MP for Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola.

Caputo has introduced Bill C-225, private member’s bill, in the House of Commons to implement changes, including automatic first degree murder charges in domestic violence-related killings.

Bill C-225 is expected to be debated and voted on in the house of Commons next week.

“We’re not stopping until we see that change,” Henderson said. “Her death will not be in vain.”