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Foerster re-trial dates set

Cherryville man convicted of killing Armstrong teen back in court in 2018
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Taylor Van Diest

The second trial for a Cherryville man in connection with killing an Armstrong teenager will occur in 2018.

Pre-trial matters in the case of Matthew Foerster will be heard April 3, in a voir dire. Jury selection will happen May 28 with his trial to follow.

The trial is estimated to take three-to-four weeks.

Foerster is charged with first degree murder for killing Taylor Van Diest. The teen was assaulted Halloween night, 2011, and she died in Kelowna General Hospital the next day.

Foerster was convicted on the charge in 2014 but the B.C. Court of Appeal granted him a retrial in March.

He was granted a retrial due to two errors in the trial judge’s 2014 charge to the jury that may have affected their decision to find Foerster guilty of first degree murder, not a lesser charge.