UPDATE: 11 A.M.
By Cheryl Wierda
Efforts to move the case of a man charged with killing his wife and daughters toward a trial have stalled.
On Monday, the court heard that lawyers were ready to schedule a pretrial conference, but accused murderer Jacob Forman wants a new lawyer.
“Mr. Forman…is persisting with wishing to change counsel,” said defence lawyer Glenn A. P. Verdurmen.
Verdurmen has just returned from vacation and has not had an opportunity yet to speak to Forman.
The case has been put over a week to determine if Forman will obtain new counsel or if a pre-trial conference will happen next month.
ORIGINAL: 7 A.M.
By Kathy Michaels
A Kelowna man charged in the killing of his wife and two daughters days before Christmas 2017 is scheduled for a court this morning.
Jacob Forman will appear via video to fix a date for upcoming trial proceedings.
It’s unclear whether he will enter a plea then, but he’s yet to do so. He is facing two charges of first degree murder relating to the deaths of his daughters, Karina and Yesenia Forman.
The charge relating to the death of his wife Clara Forman is second degree murder.
Second degree murder is defined as all other murder other than first degree murder. So, if it is not planned and the perpetrator did not deliberate about it but still intended to kill someone, that is second degree murder. Sentencing for second degree murder ranges from life in jail with no parole for 10 years to 25 years until you are eligible for parole. If there are mitigating factors the jury can recommend the minimum.
READ MORE: REMEMBERING CLARA
First degree murder is deliberate and planned, with a couple of exceptions.
Sentencing for first degree murder, however, is life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. There is no discretion on the part of the judge; that is the minimum sentence and it is automatic.
Clara Forman was originally from Mexico and worked at GoodLife Fitness, she wrote on Facebook that she met Forman 12 years ago.
“Met in January, started dating in July, engaged Oct. 27 married three weeks later on Nov. 11 at sunset. When I married Jacob Forman I left everything I knew to come to Canada and build a life,” she wrote, Nov. 11, 2015.
“God blessed our feeble efforts with good jobs, good friends, a great church family and most importantly, two of the best little humans a couple of people could ask for. Ten years later you are still the person I want to grow old with.”
Forman has no previous criminal record in B.C. A plumber, he was raised in Quesnel and social media indicates he may have lived in Vernon.
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