Six year sentence for heinous beating of his mother

A West Kelowna man who battered his mother and dumped her in a ditch off a forest service road has been sentenced to six years in prison.

On Tuesday on the seventh day of his aggravated assault trial, 61-year-old Kevin Lee Barrett, pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault of his mother.

Barrett admitted to savagely beating and choking Eleanor Holmes before throwing her down a forest ravine.

An agreed statement of facts presented in court by Crown attorney Patricia O’Neil said Barrett’s 79-year-old mother decided to “play dead,” believing that would spare her further assault.

During the sentencing portion of the trial, the court heard Barrett has bipolar disorder, frequently goes off his medication and his mental-health problems are exacerbated by a history of alcohol use.

The court heard that Barrett was often verbally abusive toward his mother, although she allowed him to live with her in a trailer park after the rest of the family turned their backs on him.

“She loved him and she did not want him to be homeless,” O’Neil said.

On April 29, 2019, Barrett asked for his mother to drive him somewhere and she said no, and he flew into a violent rage, the court heard.

Barrett savagely beat his mother, using both his fists and a blunt object to hit her in the face, head, neck, stomach, and legs. He yanked out much of her hair, hit her so hard her dentures were dislodged, bit her, and choked her with a seatbelt, the court was told.

Barrett dragged his mother out of the vehicle and tossed her down a 100-metre embankment towards a creek. He then used her bank card to buy liquor and ice cream before returning to her trailer.

Despite her serious injuries, Holmes was able to climb the embankment and was found, barefoot, bloodied and cold, by a West Kelowna couple.

Barrett was quickly arrested at the trailer and has been in custody for almost two years.

In a brief victim impact statement written by Holmes earlier this week and read into the court record on Tuesday, Holmes said: “I’m terrified of Kevin. I’m old and have a bad heart. I do not want Kevin back here.”

With credit for time served Barrett will spend another 3.5 years in prison. He has also been ordered not to have any contact with his mother.

With files from the Canadian Press