Man pleads guilty to second-degree murder in 2011 death of B.C. teen

VERNON, B.C. – A British Columbia man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of an 18-year-old girl on Halloween night in 2011.

Matthew Foerster was previously convicted of first-degree murder in 2014 for the death of Taylor Van Diest.

The young woman was found near death along some train tracks in Armstrong, B.C., and later died of her injuries in hospital.

Last May, the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered a retrial because of two problems raised by Foerster’s lawyer with how the jury in the case was instructed.

Foerster pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder in B.C. Supreme Court today in Vernon and will be back in court for sentencing on April 9.

During his first trial in Kelowna, court heard that Van Diest was hit on the head with a metal flashlight. (CJIB)