National

Appeal Hearing Granted For B.C. Man Convicted In Teen's 2011 Halloween Death

The Canadian Press, 18 Jun, 2015 12:41 PM

ARMSTRONG, B.C. — A trial date has been set to hear the appeal of a British Columbia man who was found guilty of murdering an 18-year-old woman four years ago.

Twenty-nine-year-old Matthew Foerster was convicted of first-degree murder in April last year and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Taylor Van Diest was found near death along some train tracks in Armstrong, about 25 kilometres north of Vernon, on Halloween night in 2011.

Foerster filed an appeal last September and Crown spokesman Gordon Comer says a hearing is expected to begin in June of next year.

Foerster's lawyer alleges that the judge made mistakes in his instructions to the jury around intoxication and on the attempted sexual assault as an element of first-degree murder.

The victim's mother Marie Van Diest said last year that the appeal is part two of a nightmare, and that she couldn't stand the thought of the case resurfacing.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Whale-Watching Guide: Orca Calf Spotted Near Tofino, B.C., Was Born This Week

TOFINO, B.C. — A newborn orca spotted off the coast of Tofino, B.C., looks healthy and adventurous, according to a whale-watching guide and researcher.

Whale-Watching Guide: Orca Calf Spotted Near Tofino, B.C., Was Born This Week

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne Suggests Regional Co-operation On Environment

QUEBEC — The premiers of Quebec and Ontario are meeting with the governors of eight U.S. states today as part of a three-day conference on the future of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne Suggests Regional Co-operation On Environment

Crews Partly Contain Wildfire South Of Lytton, B.C., On Third Day Of Blaze

The B.C. Wildfire Management Branch says no significant growth in the fire occurred Saturday morning and the blaze is now about 12.8 square kilometres in size.

Crews Partly Contain Wildfire South Of Lytton, B.C., On Third Day Of Blaze

Jane Fonda Boosts Opposition To Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline

In 1970, Jane Fonda was arrested while marching with indigenous people. Forty-five years later, the Academy Award-winning actress says she's willing to be placed in handcuffs again while defending British Columbia's coast from oil tankers.

Jane Fonda Boosts Opposition To Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline

Canadian Researchers Use Tracking Technology To Learn From Ocean Animals

HALIFAX — Ocean researcher Nigel Hussey says the hardest part of tagging a giant Greenland shark isn't dealing with the carnivore -- it's keeping his hands in sub-zero Arctic water while he does the work.