Koopmans Murder Trial

KOOPMANS VERDICT: Guilty of second degree murder

PENTICTON – A majority of the 12 jurors who on Saturday convicted John Ike Koopmans of two counts of second-degree murder believe he should serve consecutive prison sentences of at least 15 years.

KOOPMANS TRIAL: Key witnesses can’t be trusted: Defence

PENTICTON - The lawyer for John Koopmans attacked the credibility of key Crown witnesses—including one of the complainants—telling jurors they can’t be believed. Don Skogstad got his chance in Penticton Supreme Court today, April 7, to make some sense of six weeks of evidence the 12-member jury heard in the double murder trial. John Ike...

KOOPMANS TRIAL: Court hears bizarre testimony from key witness

PENTICTON - Witness testimony in the Koopmans murder trial took on a decidedly different direction as a key witness took the stand for a second day. Bradley Martin continued his testimony today, March 5, in Penticton Supreme Court in the trial of John Ike Koopmans, who is charged with two counts of first degree murder and...

KOOPMANS TRIAL: Accused had no ill will toward shooting victim: Friend

PENTICTON - The last witness in the John Koopmans murder trial said he’d never seen the accused show any ill will towards victim Keith Wharton. Robert Hart, a friend of Koopmans, testified if Koopmans had guns, he was unaware of it, calling him an “even-tempered man” who he had never seen angry. The double murder...

KOOPMANS TRIAL: ‘You were there to settle a score:’ Crown

PENTICTON - Crown Prosecutor Frank Dubenski continued to pummel accused murderer John Koopmans with questions regarding Koopmans’ strange social behaviour the night three people were shot in Princeton. In Koopmans' third day on the stand in his own defence today, March 30, Dubenski demanded to know why he would walk for miles late in the...

KOOPMANS TRIAL: Victim describes shooting in Koopmans trial

PENTICTON - A Penticton courtroom heard Bradley Martin describe how he was shot in a residence near Princeton on March 30, 2013, as the trial of accused murderer John Koopmans continued today. “I looked down and found blood pouring down my chest," Martin said, taking a long pause. “I realized what I had heard was...

Trial begins for man accused in Princeton double homicide

PENTICTON - The trial of a man accused of a double homicide and attempted murder of a third individual near Princeton in 2013  begins in Penticton this morning. The jury  trial of John Ike Koopmans is slated to get underway in Penticton Supreme Court this morning, Feb.16. Koopmans was charged in 2013 with two counts...

KOOPMANS TRIAL: Crown challenges Koopmans’ story

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL THERE IS NO .357 THERE — YOU SENT THEM ON A WILD GOOSE CHASE." PENTICTON - Crown Prosecutor Frank Dubenski hammered accused murderer John Ike Koopmans during cross examination today with questions about a missing handgun Koopmans said he disposed of long before a similar weapon was used once kill two...

KOOPMANS TRIAL: Police waited nearly three hours to inspect crime scene amid chaos

PENTICTON - Police arriving on scene following a report of a double homicide in Princeton found themselves overwhelmed by a chaotic scene, court was told Wednesday. A police officer who acted as primary investigator for the homicides said he found the suspected murder weapon and produced for the jury today, March 25, photographic evidence that...

KOOPMANS TRIAL: More oddities as key witness wraps up testimony

PENTICTON - The key witness in the John Ike Koopmans murder trial continued to grapple with defence lawyers under cross-examination today. Bradley Martin took the witness stand for the third day in Penticton Supreme Court on Friday, March 6. He already told the jury he overheard Koopmans arguing with two other friends, Rose Fox and...

KOOPMANS TRIAL: Mother describes finding her son shot

'I TOLD THE POLICE TO PLEASE GO HELP MY SON, HE'S STILL BREATHING....' PENTICTON - Jurors in the John Ike Koopmans murder trial heard dramatic testimony today, Feb. 3, as the mother of shooting victim Keith Wharton described finding her son and his girlfriend dead in their Princeton trailer. Carol Wharton’s voice broke as she...

KOOPMANS TRIAL: Two shot dead for revenge: Crown

PENTICTON — Two people from Princeton were shot to death and another was seriously wounded because the gunman was "crushed" and betrayed by his belief they broke into his home and stole from him, a Crown prosecutor told the jury today, Feb. 25, in the opening of the murder trial of John Ike Koopmans. Koopmans...