The man charged with killing White Rock resident Bruce Ridout more than two years ago is set for sentencing in B.C. Supreme Court in March.
Court officials confirmed Monday that the proceedings against Jeffrey Caillé are set for March 16 in New Westminster, and that Caillé last appeared in court on Nov. 1 in Vancouver.
They could not confirm when – or even if – a guilty plea had been entered. The Nov. 1 appearance was scheduled as a pre-trial hearing.
Crown and defence counsel could not be reached by Peace Arch News press deadline Tuesday morning.
Caillé – 22 years old at the time of his arrest – was charged with second-degree murder, one count of assault causing bodily harm and two counts of assault in connection with a heated altercation Aug. 10, 2014 at Ridout’s home in the 900-block of Ash Street.
Witnesses reported seeing a man attacking a woman on the street outside the residence – smashing her head on the pavement – before a young woman with her dog yelled at the man and attempted to intervene. The passerby was threatened and allegedly had a knife thrown at her. The attacker went inside and, later, was seen throwing knives and other objects off the balcony.
Ridout, a longtime Peninsula resident who was in Semiahmoo Secondary’s class of ’70, was found dead in the home, following numerous 911 calls.
Ridout’s actions that day were described by some as heroic.
While police did not release details regarding the cause of death, witnesses said he was stabbed while coming to a woman’s defence. Two women were injured in the altercation that day.
Neighbours described Ridout as a “highly intelligent, but painfully introverted” man who would open his home to those in need and who had started to “really enjoy life.”
A woman who posted on Facebook that she was with Ridout in his final moments described him as a “wonderful man.”
“I shall never forget what happened and how senseless this crime was,” Melissa Brady wrote. “RIP Bruce. My heart is with you everyday.”
Others who commented described Ridout as “a kind, generous and loving man” who cared for his parents until they passed and remembered “everything… that had ever happened in White Rock.”
Six months after the incident, in February 2015, Caillé was released on a $100,000, no-deposit bail, with conditions that he live with his mother or father in Quebec. Prior to his release, he was being held at Port Coquitlam’s Colony Farms.
That same spring, following a preliminary inquiry in Surrey Provincial Court, he was ordered to stand trial.