Photo: CTV News
Arlene Westervelt
The mother of a Lake Country woman who drowned under suspicious circumstances in Okanagan Lake in 2016 has filed a lawsuit against the man previously charged with her murder.
Arlene Westervelt drowned canoeing with her husband Bert, who was later charged with second degree murder in the incident. These charges were eventually dropped, with the husband always pleading innocence.
Prosecutors have refused to explain why the charges were dismissed, only that new information has greatly reduced the likelihood of conviction.
Last week, Arlene’s mother, Jean Hennig, filed a lawsuit in the BC Supreme Court under the name Bert, demanding a statement that he killed Arlene and demanding the return of any assets he had inherited from her.
“There is an equity law that says there is essentially no benefit to a person from wrongdoing, and we rely on those assets to be returned to the mother,” said Hennig’s attorney Scott Stanley.
The civil lawsuit alleges Arlene was in the process of separating and divorcing Bert when he killed her “so that he could inherit or acquire her property.”
Arlene had no children and shared a house with Bert in Winfield.
Through the civil lawsuit, Stanley says they can move for a court order to get their hands on the details of the criminal investigation.
In contrast to criminal proceedings, civil actions can also force the disclosure of evidence and documents.
“In a criminal case, the person charged with a crime is not required to reveal anything,” Stanley said, noting that anything new that the civil complaint uncovered cannot be passed on to law enforcement.
The other major difference between criminal and civil litigation is that the civil judge only needs to be convinced that Bert killed Arlene by weighing the probabilities. A criminal conviction requires absolute certainty.
Bert Westervelt’s lawyer did not respond to requests to comment on the lawsuit, but always protested his innocence and said the drowning was an accident. None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been proven and Bert has not submitted a response.
Three of Bert’s family members interviewed by CTV’s W5 earlier this year said the same thing – that his original arrest was unlawful.
Stanley says they hope to get a quick resolution of the file and set the trial dates quickly.
