Foerster Sentencing Hearing Begins

It’s expected to be an emotional next three days for the family of a murdered Armstrong teen.

A sentencing hearing gets under way today for Matthew Foerster in Supreme Court in Vernon.

Foerster pleaded guilty in March to the second degree murder of 18 year old Taylor Van Diest in 2011.

Under a plea deal with the Crown, it’s believed the 32 year old Foerster, originally from Cherryville, will have to serve at least 17 years before being eligible for parole.

Family members of the victim have said the plea deal is hard to accept, and the whole court process has left them devastated.

Forster was found guilty of first degree murder in 2014, but successfully appealled it due to errors made by the trial judge.