Witness tampering charge added in murder case

SANDPOINT - Another witness tampering charge has been filed against a Bonner County man awaiting trial for allegedly killing his wife in Washington state in 1997.

The Yakima Herald reports that Barry Beckford is accused of telling a fellow inmate at the Yakima County jail in April to put a threatening letter in the mailbox of a key witness and set fire to the witness' garage in Selah, Wash.

According to an investigator's affidavit, the letter warned there was a $10,000 hit out on the witness. Beckford allegedly drew a map of the targeted property and told the inmate he wanted the witness scared, the Herald reported.

It's unclear in the news report if the inmate actually carried out the alleged plot.

It's the second time since Beckford was arrested for first-degree murder that he has been accused of witness tampering. In March, prosecutors added two counts of witness tampering after he tried to influence the statements of his two sons, both of whom are identified as witnesses in the murder case.

The third count of witness tampering boosted Beckford's bail fourfold to $1 million.

Beckford, formerly known as Barrett Bailey, is accused of murdering his 32-year-old wife. Deborah Bailey had been shot four times in the head and her body was found in her vehicle northeast of Naches, Wash.

Beckford, 61, had long been a person of interest in the slaying, although there wasn't enough evidence to bring a criminal charge.

Detectives reinvestigated the case in conjunction with the cable television program "Cold Justice," which investigates unsolved homicides with the consent of law enforcement agencies.

Prosecutors have not said what evidence or statements emerged that prompted them to charge Beckford.

Beckford denied involvement in his wife's death when he was confronted on camera by Yakima County detectives outside his home in Vay.

Beckford's January arrest coincided with the airing of the "Cold Justice" episode delving into his wife's killing. Friends of Deborah Bailey told the show's producers that she planned to divorce him and take custody of their two children prior to her death.

A pretrial omnibus hearing in the murder case is set for Aug. 13, according to Yakima County Superior Court records.