The man charged in the Halloween murder of Armstrong teenager Taylor Van Diest will remain behind bars while he awaits trial.
A Kelowna Supreme Court justice denied bail Thursday to Matthew Foerster, the 26-year-old accused of slaying Van Diest in her hometown on Oct. 31, 2011.
The 18-year-old’s family reacted to the decision outside the courtroom, describing it as “wonderful news.”
“I’m satisfied with the judge’s decision. I hoped and prayed that’s the way it would go,” Van Diest’s mother Marie told reporters. “We’re very happy we can go home with a bit of a smile on our face today.”
Van Diest was found unconscious and fatally wounded in the bushes near a railroad track that runs through Armstrong, and died a short time later in hospital.
An autopsy was performed, but police never released the cause of death.
Foerster is also charged with the 2005 sexual assault of a Kelowna sex trade worker, and assault and forcible confinement of a Cherryville woman dating back to 2004.
His trial is expected to take place next spring.
The accused’s father, Stephen Roy Foerster, has also been charged with obstruction of justice and being an accessory after the fact in Van Diest’s death.
He was granted bail at $100,000 in May and ordered to stay out of Armstrong.
