By Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative/Penticton Herald

There鈥檚 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鈥檚 alleged killers is difficult to deal with鈥� 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鈥檛 be identified under provisions of the Youth Justice Act, who have all selected trial by judge and jury in B.C.鈥檚 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鈥檚 adequate evidence for the respective cases to proceed to a trial.

While pleased that all four charged in relation to her son鈥檚 death will be facing a jury of their peers, Savage said she鈥檚 still recovering from her son鈥檚 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.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e adults,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙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鈥檙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.

鈥淚 know what lies ahead is going to be very tough. The biggest thing for me is so far there鈥檚 been zero accountability,鈥� said Savage.

鈥淣one of them are taking responsibility for their behaviour that night. None of them have done the right thing yet. That doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e not going to, however, it looks like they鈥檙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.鈥�

The fact attorney Nelson Selemaj, who is representing one of the youth, showed up late Monday for court was embarrassing, Savage said.

鈥淲e all wonder what could be more important than a murder trial,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had to literally run to get here from my job because I sure as hell didn鈥檛 want to be late.鈥�

The fact there are so many other cases she鈥檚 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鈥檚 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.

鈥淚n my mind, it鈥檚 very disturbing all four are still on the street,鈥� she said. 鈥淧otentially, they have the ability to do it again.鈥�

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e outnumbered, it鈥檚 just not fair.鈥�

While she鈥檚 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.

鈥淚鈥檓 a very strong person and I鈥檓 handling things truthfully very well so far, but there are obviously some days much harder than others,鈥� she said.

鈥淚鈥檝e gone through death before in my family and it鈥檚 taken me eight years to garner the strength to sit here and have conversations like this one.鈥�

She has one daughter who literally breaks into panic attacks every time she enters Penticton city limits and 鈥渆very time I drive by the school, the same sort of thing happens to me. It鈥檚 very, very hard.鈥�

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.

鈥淚 truly think Penticton is turning into a hostile community,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here is so much lack of faith in the judicial system.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much theft, so many scams, beatings and then things like this happen to my son. I鈥檝e lived here 40 years and it was such a great place to grow up, but it鈥檚 changed. Unless we start making people accountable for their behaviour, it will continue and get worse.鈥�