KELOWNA, BC: The murder of 32-year-old Bailey McCourt has rocked Kelowna and laid bare deep failures in BC’s justice system. Just hours after being convicted of choking and threatening her, Bailey’s estranged partner was released under existing bail conditions, then allegedly killed her and seriously injured another woman.
Kristina Loewen, MLA for Kelowna Centre, said: “This was preventable. Bailey did everything right. She filed charges. She posted publicly about her fear. And still, despite convictions for choking and threatening her, he was allowed to walk free. That is a catastrophic failure of justice.”
Bailey reportedly had posted online about fearing for her family’s safety and was forwarding threatening messages from her ex to Crown counsel.
Elenore Sturko, Opposition Critic for Public Safety, is calling for a full coroner’s inquest into the circumstances that led to Bailey’s murder: “It’s horrific and unforgivable. This man had just been convicted of choking and threatening a woman and was still allowed to walk free. The system failed at every level, and that failure ended in a brutal, preventable murder. This cannot be swept under the rug.”
“This tragedy is a damning indictment of Bill C-75. Even with a conviction for choking and threats, this man was still on bail, until it was too late. What does that say about our justice system’s priorities?” said Sturko.
The attack occurred in the middle of the day at a busy Kelowna intersection. The accused, James Edward Plover, fled the scene and was arrested shortly afterward. He is now charged with second-degree murder.
This tragedy shines a light on the very failures highlighted in the provincial government’s own June 2025 systemic review of intimate partner violence. The report found that survivors face discrimination, delays, and systemic barriers across criminal and family law, failures that in Bailey’s case had fatal consequences.
“Kelowna isn’t just grieving, we’re furious. This happened in broad daylight, after the system had every chance to intervene. Bailey’s daughters will now grow up without their mother because our justice system chose delay and denial over protection. That can never happen again” said Loewen.
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Media Contact:
Francesca Guetchev, Communications Officer
Francesca.Guetchev@leg.bc.ca
+1 (672) 922-0948
