A jury in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, has found Matthew Foerster guilty of murder in the first degree in the case of Armstrong teen Taylor Van Diest.
The 18-year-old girl was found beaten with fatal wounds by the side of railroad tracks on Halloween night in 2011.
Foerster, originally from Cherryville, B.C., and now 28, has admitted responsibility for causing the injuries that killed Van Diest, but pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder.
Cherryville is a tiny community of about 600 in the mountains about 50 km east of Vernon, B.C. Vernon is about 40 km north of Kelowna, and Armstrong is another 20km north of Vernon. All three cities are in B.C.s famous Okanagan Valley.
One wonders what Foester was like when living there in Cherryville.
On Thursday in Kelowna, both Crown and defence gave their closing submissions to the jury, which began deliberating Friday afternoon.
The Crown argued Van Diest was on her way to a party when Foerster followed her to a secluded area of Armstrong, B.C., intending to rape her. When Van Diest fought back and screamed, Foerster smashed in her head with a heavy flashlight.
Crown alleges DNA of Matthew Foerster, 28, found under young woman's fingernails
Taylor Van Diest died of blow to head, says pathologist
Foerster's defence lawyer says her client only wanted consensual sex with Van Diest. But when a scuffle ensued, Foerster pushed the Armstrong teen, causing her to hit her head on a steel pipe on the ground.
The victim's mother Marie Van Diest called that theory laughable.
"It think it sounds a little too far fetched and unrealistic for anyone to believe that it could actually happen that way. It was what it was, and I think she'd be hard pressed to sway that jury otherwise."
She told CBC News she was confident her family would get justice.
Earlier in the trial, the judge instructed the jury that a killing committed during a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault is considered first-degree murder.
In Canada, a conviction of either first- or second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence.
Good! Should keep this creep off the streets for a while. What makes guys think they can just rape a girl? Is it misogyny? Is it the dehumanization of women and girls because of pornography? What? We had better figure it out and deal with it, because things are getting worse not better.
Please pray my 3:15 PM prayer group.
The 18-year-old girl was found beaten with fatal wounds by the side of railroad tracks on Halloween night in 2011.
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| Taylor Van Diest, 18 |
Cherryville is a tiny community of about 600 in the mountains about 50 km east of Vernon, B.C. Vernon is about 40 km north of Kelowna, and Armstrong is another 20km north of Vernon. All three cities are in B.C.s famous Okanagan Valley.
One wonders what Foester was like when living there in Cherryville.
On Thursday in Kelowna, both Crown and defence gave their closing submissions to the jury, which began deliberating Friday afternoon.
The Crown argued Van Diest was on her way to a party when Foerster followed her to a secluded area of Armstrong, B.C., intending to rape her. When Van Diest fought back and screamed, Foerster smashed in her head with a heavy flashlight.
Crown alleges DNA of Matthew Foerster, 28, found under young woman's fingernails
Taylor Van Diest died of blow to head, says pathologist
 |
| Foerster |
Foerster's defence lawyer says her client only wanted consensual sex with Van Diest. But when a scuffle ensued, Foerster pushed the Armstrong teen, causing her to hit her head on a steel pipe on the ground.
The victim's mother Marie Van Diest called that theory laughable.
"It think it sounds a little too far fetched and unrealistic for anyone to believe that it could actually happen that way. It was what it was, and I think she'd be hard pressed to sway that jury otherwise."
She told CBC News she was confident her family would get justice.
Earlier in the trial, the judge instructed the jury that a killing committed during a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault is considered first-degree murder.
In Canada, a conviction of either first- or second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence.
Good! Should keep this creep off the streets for a while. What makes guys think they can just rape a girl? Is it misogyny? Is it the dehumanization of women and girls because of pornography? What? We had better figure it out and deal with it, because things are getting worse not better.
Please pray my 3:15 PM prayer group.
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