Update 11:00 a.m.
Matthew Foerster has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years in the second-degree murder of 18-year-old Taylor Van Diest in Armstrong in 2011.
Defence and Crown made a joint submission for 17 years of parole ineligibility. Van Diest’s mother told reporters on Monday that she was hoping for parole ineligibility to be set at 17 years or more.
The sentence means Foerster will not be eligible to apply for parole until April 4, 2029 – 17 years from the date of his arrest.
The judge called the killing of Van Diest horrific and says the loss is incalculable.
More to come
Original story:
Both Crown and defence lawyers agree on the sentence for Matthew Foerster, who’s guilty of slaying an Okanagan teenager.
They’re asking for life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.
It will be up to the judge to decide. The sentencing hearing is currently ongoing in B.C. Supreme Court.
Court heard three victim impact statements.
Foerster strangled 18-year-old Taylor Van Diest with a shoestring and used a heavy flashlight to hit her on the back of her head several times in Armstrong in 2011.
He was found guilty of first-degree murder in October 2014 but was granted a new trial on appeal because of mistakes by the trial judge.
Foerster then pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
He will be sentenced on Tuesday at 11 a.m.
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