Kelowna man who killed wife, two daughters pleads guilty to murders
Credit to Author: Joseph Ruttle| Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2019 22:36:54 +0000
KELOWNA — Jacob Forman killed his family as he was going through an extreme case of alcohol withdrawal, his lawyer says.
In a surprise development Thursday afternoon at the Kelowna courthouse, Forman changed his plea from not guilty and admitted to the first-degree murder of his two young daughters and the second-degree murder of his wife Clara.
Crying and not lifting his head, Forman paused after the reading of each charge — done for the second time in just three days — and said ‘Guilty’ to each count.
The trial was adjourned until Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. for sentencing. Crown counsel Murray Kay will be seeking consecutive sentences, while defence lawyer Raymond Dieno will ask for concurrent sentences.
Outside the courthouse, Dieno told reporters that Forman was a functioning alcoholic at the time he killed his wife and daughters in late December 2017.
Jacob Forman in a file photo.
Forman had suddenly stopped drinking alcohol and was going through severe withdrawal symptoms, Dieno said.
Given his alcoholism, Forman originally believed he had a defence to offer to the murder charges, Dieno said.
“He was of the view that he had a mental-state defence,” Dieno said.
But a report from an expert retained by the defence apparently did not convince Forman that such a trial strategy would be successful.
“The report from the expert was such that (Forman) thought he should plead guilty,” Dieno said.
The manner in which Forman killed his wife and children has not been made public. The Crown and defence will enter an agreed statement of facts, as well as their sentencing recommendations, on Sept. 16 before Judge Allan Betton delivers the sentence.
A conviction of first-degree murder means life in prison with no eligibility of parole for at least 25 years. Conviction for second-degree murder means no eligibility of parole for between 10 and 25 years.
More to come …
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