The accused charged with second-degree murder in the beating death of a young man outside Pen-Hi more than three years ago has elected to have a preliminary hearing.
Isaac Hayse Jack, now 22, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Taig Savage, who was killed in the early morning hours of Sept. 5, 2021. Savage’s body was found in a field outside the high school.
Last April, Jack and three youths (two males and one female), who can’t be identified under provisions of the Youth Justice Act, were all charged in relation to Savage’s violent death.
Jack was 18 at the time Savage was killed and will be the only one facing trial as an adult.
He will be tried by a judge and jury, with the trial expected to begin later in 2025. The preliminary, expected to last five to seven days, will be this spring.
The three youths will be tried together, also by a judge and jury, and all three have also chosen to have a preliminary hearing.
A preliminary hearing is held to determine if there’s sufficient evidence for a matter to proceed to trial.
Meanwhile, The Herald has learned that one of the three youths charged in Savage’s death was recently arrested and spent several days in custody before being released under strict bail conditions by a judge in Kelowna Monday morning.
That accused, who is now an adult under federal law, is facing one new count of assault in relation to this latest incident. The provision that she not be identified under provisions of the Youth Justice Act, remains in place.
On Monday, Crown attorney Kurt Froelich told Judge Greg Kotarbush that defence counsel James Pennington has received most of the relevant disclosure relating to the case against Jack and he will get him all ancillary disclosure as soon as possible.
He expects to call no more than 10 Crown witnesses during the preliminary and the hearing should take no more than seven days, he said.
“I think seven days is a fair estimate,” said Froelich.
.png)
Several witnesses at the preliminary hearing, such as a lab technologist and other professionals from out of town, are hoping to be able to testify by video, which Pennington said he would not object to.
A judicial case manager at the Penticton courthouse will set the dates for the preliminary hearing on Feb. 18.
In the early hours of Sept. 5, 2021, Savage was rushed to hospital after his unresponsive body was found at the local high school, but he was pronounced dead soon after his arrival.
Police previously said that Savage left his home near the school wearing a hooded sweatshirt and pajamas, not long before he was killed.
Savage had been working in construction and came from a family of 10.
Savage’s mother Tracy was again in court Monday as the legal proceedings in this high-profile case winds its way through the court system.
“Taig loved people, loved his family. He was a bit of a loner, but would talk with a homeless person for up to four hours. He was nice to the kids who really didn’t fit in,” his mother, Tracy, told the Herald at the time of his death.
“He was not a judgmental person. Taig would give his shirt off his back for anybody.”
