Matthew Stephen Foerster has pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Taylor Van Diest.
The 18-year-old victim was walking along railway tracks in Armstrong, B.C., when she was savagely attacked in October 2011.
Foerster was found guilty of first-degree murder during a jury trial in April 2014. He appealed the conviction because of mistakes in the judge’s final instructions to the jury, and he was granted a new trial.
On Monday in Vernon’s B.C. Supreme Court, Foerster instead pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Van Diest’s mother called Foerster a coward and said the family believes he’s guilty of first-degree murder.
Foerster’s sentencing is scheduled for April 9 to 11.
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