Police have charged a father and son in the Halloween fatal beating of a young woman whose death shocked a small British Columbia town.
Taylor Van Diest, 18, died after she was attacked and beaten near train tracks in her hometown of Armstrong, B.C.
The death in the small North Okanagan town led to a massive police investigation.
Five months later, police announced two arrests on Thursday: 26-year-old Matthew Stephen Foerster for second-degree murder, and his father, Stephen Roy Foerster, for obstruction of justice.
The elder Foerster also faces a charge of being an accessory to a murder after the fact.
The younger Foerster was arrested at a motel in Collingwood, Ont. He also faces charges of sex assault and unlawful confinement in connection to a 2005 attack in Kelowna, B.C.
Additionally, he has been charged in a 2004 incident in which a 19-year-old female was assaulted during a home invasion in Cherryville, B.C.
Matthew Foerster will be transported back to B.C. to face the charges.
The mother of the victim spoke with CTV British Columbia about the arrests on Thursday.
"We finally can direct our anger at a face," said Marie Van Diest.
Family friend Tracy Ringland said that healing is a long way off, and added that family and friends are still dealing with a "big loss."
"Hopefully, in time. Time heals right?"
Police say that DNA discovered at the crime scene last fall was matched against forensic evidence from the earlier incidents.
None of the charges against Matthew Stephen Foerster or his father have been proven in court.
