According to court records, a retiree charged with the attempted murder of his wife in Keremeos is set to plead guilty.
Brian Gene Reum was charged in September of 2024 with attempted murder and aggravated assault for allegedly trying to take a knife to his wife.
He had been scheduled to appear in Penticton Provincial Court on Feb. 26, to elect between a judge-alone trial or a judge and jury. Instead, the defence asked to schedule a date with an intention to enter a guilty plea.
It is not clear from the court records whether Reum intends to plead guilty to one charge, both, or any lesser offence.
Reum was also sued in civil court in July of 2024, where the details of the alleged incident were included in the civil claim.
The charges both stem from an alleged incident on March 28, 2024, and according to the civil suit, on that day, Reum allegedly came up behind his wife and attempted to cut her throat with a serrated hunting knife.
He then allegedly turned the knife on himself.
The March incident was not the first alleged incident listed in the civil court documents, which also claim that on Feb. 20, 2024, just 18 days after the couple married, Reum attempted multiple times to smother his wife with a pillow.
Reum filed a response to the civil claim in October of 2024, rejecting the civil claims and further stating that any particulars would be prejudicial to the concurrent criminal proceedings.
"After the prosecution has concluded further factual particulars regarding the conduct and actions of the defendant will be provided by the defendant in an amended response to a civil claim," reads Reum's response.
The couple is also going through Family Law proceedings, however, those records are not publically accessible.
Reum no longer lives in Keremeos but instead resides in the Lower Mainland.
