By Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative/Penticton Herald
There乌鸦传媒檚 a rollercoaster of emotions that well up inside her every time Tracy Savage visits the Penticton Courthouse. The criminal case against her beloved son Taig Savage乌鸦传媒檚 alleged killers is difficult to deal with乌鸦传媒� but Tracy owes it to her son to be there and to ensure justice is done.
Savage was there again Monday to hear three youths, who can乌鸦传媒檛 be identified under provisions of the Youth Justice Act, who have all selected trial by judge and jury in B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 Supreme Court of Justice.
A fourth accused, Isaac Hayes Jack, is due in court on Feb. 10 for what is scheduled to be an arraignment hearing where he is also expected to elect whether he wants his trial to be heard by a judge and jury or a judge alone.
Taig Savage, 22, was killed in the early morning hours of Sept. 5, 2021 and his body was found in a field outside Pen-Hi.
The three youths, who are all now over age 18, will be tried together during the same trial, while Jack will be tried separately.
Court heard a judicial case manager will meet with lawyers for the accused next Tuesday, Jan. 21 to set a date for a pre-trial conference.
All four accused have also opted to have a preliminary inquiry. A preliminary inquiry will determine if there乌鸦传媒檚 adequate evidence for the respective cases to proceed to a trial.
While pleased that all four charged in relation to her son乌鸦传媒檚 death will be facing a jury of their peers, Savage said she乌鸦传媒檚 still recovering from her son乌鸦传媒檚 tragic and violent death more than three years ago.
The fact three of the four accused are now adults, but will benefit from provisions of the Youth Justice Act is very difficult to deal with, she said.
乌鸦传媒淭hey乌鸦传媒檙e adults,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淭hey乌鸦传媒檙e big. They all stand taller than me. Some of them are over six feet tall and a couple over 200 pounds. I am happy that we乌鸦传媒檙e moving forward. It has been a long time since they were charged, so this progression is good for my sanity, my family and my mental health.
乌鸦传媒淚 know what lies ahead is going to be very tough. The biggest thing for me is so far there乌鸦传媒檚 been zero accountability,乌鸦传媒� said Savage.
乌鸦传媒淣one of them are taking responsibility for their behaviour that night. None of them have done the right thing yet. That doesn乌鸦传媒檛 mean they乌鸦传媒檙e not going to, however, it looks like they乌鸦传媒檙e going to put me and my family through a long trial and now a preliminary hearing. That just adds on to the length of time this could take.乌鸦传媒�
The fact attorney Nelson Selemaj, who is representing one of the youth, showed up late Monday for court was embarrassing, Savage said.
乌鸦传媒淲e all wonder what could be more important than a murder trial,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚 had to literally run to get here from my job because I sure as hell didn乌鸦传媒檛 want to be late.乌鸦传媒�
The fact there are so many other cases she乌鸦传媒檚 read about across Canada where groups of young people are reported to have attacked and seriously injured and killed innocent victims simply breaks her heart, said Savage, a proud mother of 10 children.
While she乌鸦传媒檚 been told not to comment on any specifics of the case, Savage did say that there is always ample opportunity to walk away from an incident that involves one person against several attackers.
乌鸦传媒淚n my mind, it乌鸦传媒檚 very disturbing all four are still on the street,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淧otentially, they have the ability to do it again.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淲hen you乌鸦传媒檙e outnumbered, it乌鸦传媒檚 just not fair.乌鸦传媒�
While she乌鸦传媒檚 had some bad days, Savage said the love and support of her remaining large family and large circle of friends has made her strong as this case winds through the court system.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 a very strong person and I乌鸦传媒檓 handling things truthfully very well so far, but there are obviously some days much harder than others,乌鸦传媒� she said.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e gone through death before in my family and it乌鸦传媒檚 taken me eight years to garner the strength to sit here and have conversations like this one.乌鸦传媒�
She has one daughter who literally breaks into panic attacks every time she enters Penticton city limits and 乌鸦传媒渆very time I drive by the school, the same sort of thing happens to me. It乌鸦传媒檚 very, very hard.乌鸦传媒�
She has kids to feed and a job, but she hopes to be in court every single time as the judicial process continues, she said.
乌鸦传媒淚 truly think Penticton is turning into a hostile community,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淭here is so much lack of faith in the judicial system.
乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 so much theft, so many scams, beatings and then things like this happen to my son. I乌鸦传媒檝e lived here 40 years and it was such a great place to grow up, but it乌鸦传媒檚 changed. Unless we start making people accountable for their behaviour, it will continue and get worse.乌鸦传媒�
