Crown seeking 35 years

Photo: Facebook

Jacob Forman

The Kelowna man who murdered his wife and two young daughters just days before Christmas 2017 is in court for the beginning of his sentencing hearing today.

Jacob Forman was arrested on the evening of Dec. 17, 2017, after a co-worker of Clara Forman reported that she hadn't shown up for work that day.

Police searched the Forman home on Bolotzky Court and found the bodies of Clara, eight-year-old Karina and seven-year-old Yesenia in the garage of the home.

Earlier this month, a five-week voir dire in the case began to determine the admissibility of several key pieces of Crown evidence, including a confession Forman made to police eight days after his arrest. The voir dire began with Forman pleading not guilty, despite telling the court he was “responsible.”

On the third day of the voir dire, Forman changed his mind and pleaded guilty to the two counts of first-degree murders of his daughters and one count of second-degree murder of his wife. He broke down in tears as he entered his pleas, barely able to get the words out.

While first-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years, the Crown is seeking consecutive sentences for the first- and second-degree murders, resulting in no parole eligibility for Forman for 35 years.

Legislation that allows for “stacked” murder sentences was introduced in Canada in 2011, and while several killers across Canada have been sentenced to multiple consecutive murder sentences, it's never occurred in B.C. The longest sentences issued in Canada is life with 75 years until parole eligibility, which has been handed down on five occasions.

Following the guilty pleas, Forman's lawyer Ray Dieno said he would be arguing for parole eligibility in 25 years instead.