A Kelowna man accused of killing his young family appeared before a judge Thursday, making the first steps in what his lawyer says will likely be a lengthy court process.
Jacob Forman, 34, was charged with three counts of second degree murder for allegedly killing his wife Clara and two primary school age daughters, Karena and Yesenia, at some point between Sunday and Tuesday, according to court documents.
Forman said nothing during the process, but his lawyer did speak to the media.
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sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 an extremely serious, very tragic situation,sa国际传媒� said Formansa国际传媒檚 defence lawyer Glen Verdurmen.
sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 know much about the case yetsa国际传媒� I will be receiving disclosure from the Crown and reviewing with my client. I wouldnsa国际传媒檛 expect the process to move very quickly. I am sure there are all sorts of forensic investigations, interviewing of witnesses that the police are going to be doing while theysa国际传媒檙e assessing the case at this point in time.sa国际传媒�
When asked, Verdurmen was reluctant to weigh in on the mental state of his client, noting that hesa国际传媒檚 holding up sa国际传媒渄espite facing the worst possible thing you can be facing.sa国际传媒�
He also said it was too early to tell what position hesa国际传媒檇 be taking going forward or if Forman knew how he was going to plead. When Forman returns to court Jan. 18, 2018 Verdurmen said hesa国际传媒檚 unlikely to have a significantly clearer view on these issues.
While the legal process is just getting underway, so too is the communitysa国际传媒檚 effort to deal with the loss.
Karena and Yesenia Forman were students at Heritage Christian Online School.
In a statement, the school extended their condolences to the friends and family of the girls and their mother.
sa国际传媒淎s our community mourns their loss, there are not adequate words to express our deep sorrow at this tragedy,sa国际传媒� reads the statement. sa国际传媒淥ut of respect to the familysa国际传媒檚 privacy, we will not be making any further statement at this time but rather uplifting them in prayer.sa国际传媒�
The Formansa国际传媒檚 appeared to be devout people.
In an interview with the Capital News, a high school friend of Jacob Forman said the couple met in Mexico at a Christian retreat.
Clara wrote about their meeting on Facebook and touched on their shared faith in that post.
sa国际传媒淢et 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,sa国际传媒� she wrote, Nov. 11, 2015.
sa国际传媒淕od 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.sa国际传媒�
Friends of Clara are holding a Candlelight vigil Dec. 28 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Stuart Park by the Christmas tree.
sa国际传媒淭he Latin American Community in Kelowna invites all residents to walk together against violence towards women,sa国际传媒� reads a Facebook post. sa国际传媒淧lease bring a candle along. We are in this together.sa国际传媒�
