Murder charge stayed in domestic death case

The Crown has stayed a second-degree murder charge against a 63-year-old Lake Country man in the death of his wife.

Police charged Bert Westervelt nearly three years after his 56-year-old wife Arlene was originally believed to have drowned in a canoe outing on Okanagan Lake in 2016.

A preliminary hearing was supposed to begin Tuesday but the B-C Prosecution Service said it would no longer be pursuing the charge against him.

A spokesperson says the decision was based on a review of new information but did not provide any details.