PRE-PRELIMINARY HEARING
Twin Peaks resident Brandt Bailey Bater, 63, returns to court for a pre-preliminary hearing on June 14. He is accused of murdering his wife February 25, 2011. (Contributed Photo)
By Michael P. Neufeld
San Bernardino, CA – The Twin Peaks man suspected of killing his wife two years ago returns to court for a pre-trial hearing.
Brandt Bailey Bater (Booking Photo)
The man, Brandt Bailey Bater who is now 63, allegedly shot his wife — 61-year-old Faith Ellen Bater — in their residence on February 25, 2011. He is being held on $1 million bail at the West Valley Detention Center and will appear in San Bernardino County Superior Court Department S-17 at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, June 14, for a pre-trial hearing before Judge Kenneth Barr.
A trial readiness hearing is now scheduled for 8:20 a.m. on Friday, June 28. Judge Barr has set a jury trial to begin at 10 a.m. on Monday, July 1, in Department 17-A.
THE INCIDENT
Dispatchers sent deputies to the residence, in the 500 block of Sunset View Road in Twin Peaks, after Bater told 9-1-1 operators he had accidentally shot his wife while trying to shoot their dog.
Deputies and Crest Forest Fire personnel responded to the address and upon arrival found Faith Bater with a single gunshot wound to the head and not breathing. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Bater was originally charged with manslaughter but homicide detectives later amended the complaint charging him with murder after detectives reportedly discovered additional evidence.
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