GUILTY Canada - Taylor Van Diest, 18, beaten to death, Armstrong, BC, 31 Oct 2011

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http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2011/11/02/18912681.html
Taylor Van Diest was excited about Halloween but never got the chance to celebrate.

Just a day before the 18-year-old died after she was found beaten and unconscious near some railway tracks in Armstrong, B.C., a town located 450 km west of Vancouver, she’d posted what would be her final entry on Facebook, trying to decide on a costume: “Zombie, or MotherNature/WoodNymph type look?”

A couple of days before that, Van Diest gleefully embraced all the seasonal horror movies on TV.

She couldn’t have known how horrifically her own life would end on Oct. 31.
 
By Susan Lazaruk and Ian Austin
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/02/cell-phone-helps-slain-b-c-teenagers-family-find-body/
The family of a slain B.C. teenager who died after being found beaten and unconscious near some railway tracks knew something was wrong when her text messages stopped coming.

Taylor Van Diest, from the small B.C. community of Armstrong, died in hospital Monday night. Her aunt Anne Mihalcheon said the 18-year-old suffered head injuries.

Family, friends and RCMP officers found the teen lying in the bushes dressed as a zombie about three metres from the train tracks.

RCMP are waiting on an autopsy report to release details of how Van Diest was killed but they are now treating the case as a murder investigation.

Van Diest’s family called police on Halloween night after she failed to meet a friend to go trick-or-treating at 7:30 p.m. and wasn’t texting anyone, Mihalcheon said
 
Just in!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...yfriend-shortly-before-attack/article2222808/



Shortly before she was brutally attacked, slain teen Taylor Van Diest sent a text to her boyfriend saying she was “being creeped,” according to her best friend, Zoë Unruh.

Ms. Unruh said the text suggested that the 18-year-old woman from Armstrong, who was left unconscious with severe injuries near a set of railway tracks Monday evening, may have been followed.

“That was the last thing we got from her,” said Ms. Unruh, who noted that the text was misspelled. She said it was uncharacteristic for Ms. Van Diest, an “immaculate speller.”

Ms. Unruh said she and Ms. Van Diest’s boyfriend tried replying to the text message, but received nothing in reply. The misspelling and the absence of any response led them to start a search party
 
Just in!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...yfriend-shortly-before-attack/article2222808/



Shortly before she was brutally attacked, slain teen Taylor Van Diest sent a text to her boyfriend saying she was “being creeped,” according to her best friend, Zoë Unruh.

Ms. Unruh said the text suggested that the 18-year-old woman from Armstrong, who was left unconscious with severe injuries near a set of railway tracks Monday evening, may have been followed.

“That was the last thing we got from her,” said Ms. Unruh, who noted that the text was misspelled. She said it was uncharacteristic for Ms. Van Diest, an “immaculate speller.”

Ms. Unruh said she and Ms. Van Diest’s boyfriend tried replying to the text message, but received nothing in reply. The misspelling and the absence of any response led them to start a search party


Wow what amazing friends and family.
How sad.

Just a few days ago I was talking to my ex husband about our three teens and how I would instantly know something was wrong by their texting style and spelling. He didnt believe me lol.
RIP sweet girl!!
 
North Okanagan
http://www.castanet.net/news/North-Okanagan/66754/Video-Teen-murdered-in-Armstrong

Update: Teen murdered in Armstrong

by Castanet Staff - Story: 66754
Nov 2, 2011 / 2:18 pm




Update 2:00 p.m. Wednesday: Police say they have no suspects in connection with Taylor Van Diest's homicide and are advising public to be vigilant until her killer is caught including traveling in groups.

Police are also asking for anyone who may have received electronic messages or photos from the victim to contact authorities. RCMP add that solving this case is their number one priority. What police are unclear about is where Van Diest was going or who she was going to meet.

​RCMP have 30 officers working on the case
 
what a beautiful young lady

I know she was unconscious when they found her but I hope she somehow knew her family & friends were there & that it was comforting for her

I'd like more info on where she might have been & what she was doing ... she was supposed to meet her best friend at 7:30 but she was already in costume & out so was she picking up something from the store, having dinner or what? and is there surveillance cameras that can be checked? and why wasn't she spending that night with her boyfriend? was he upset at her and did he send the text?
 
wonder how it was misspelled? maybe LE is keeping that quiet as part of the investigation ...
 
(This link shows a picture of Taylor in the costume worn that night)

A police timeline shows Van Diest left her home near the intersection of Colony Avenue and Pleasant Valley Road in Armstrong about 5:50 p.m. Monday.


Police believe Van Diest walked north on Pleasant Valley Road for 10 minutes to the railroad tracks where she was attacked by an individual or individuals.


Molendyk says Van Diest could have been followed to the railway tracks, could have been meeting someone at the railway tracks or the suspect or suspects may have already been waiting there.


Her family says their last known correspondence with Van Diest was around 7:30 p.m.


"We are not 100 per cent sure if she was followed," Molendyk said


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Po...night+killed/5653980/story.html#ixzz1cgqLWcZs




Just a thought I had, could a mentally unstable person have mistaken Taylor's scary outfit for the real thing and "slayed' the monster?
 
(This link shows a picture of Taylor in the costume worn that night)

A police timeline shows Van Diest left her home near the intersection of Colony Avenue and Pleasant Valley Road in Armstrong about 5:50 p.m. Monday.


Police believe Van Diest walked north on Pleasant Valley Road for 10 minutes to the railroad tracks where she was attacked by an individual or individuals.


Molendyk says Van Diest could have been followed to the railway tracks, could have been meeting someone at the railway tracks or the suspect or suspects may have already been waiting there.


Her family says their last known correspondence with Van Diest was around 7:30 p.m.

"We are not 100 per cent sure if she was followed," Molendyk said


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Po...night+killed/5653980/story.html#ixzz1cgqLWcZs




Just a thought I had, could a mentally unstable person have mistaken Taylor's scary outfit for the real thing and "slayed' the monster?

I don't understand the timeline, as bolded by me.

LE implies that she walked 10 minutes to the tracks, and would therefore have arrived around 6:00. Her family says she was last heard from at 7:30. (I presume this was the "I'm being creeped" text message.) So what was she doing between 6:00 and 7:30? If someone was bugging you, why would you wait that long before sending a message? That text message is fishy.

LE didn't imply that she went downtown or elsewhere and might have been walking back. They say that she walked to the tracks and someone either met her there, followed her there or was waiting there.
 
This is awful :cry: I also am not understanding the timeline here. Did she make it to the party?
 
Police close to recreating slain girl’s last hours

VANCOUVER— Globe and Mail Update
Last updated Thursday, Nov. 03, 2011 9:06PM EDT
Police are close to establishing a timeline that will track the movements made by Taylor Van Diest on the afternoon leading up to a fatal attack on the Armstrong teen.
“They are getting very, very close [to knowing] everything within that timeline,” said Vernon/North Okanagan RCMP spokesman Gordon Molendyk.
Mr. Molendyk asked anyone who had contact with Ms. Van Diest that afternoon to come forward with information.

“Even though you think it’s small, allow us to decide the relevance of it,” Mr. Molendyk said, noting that clues found in texts, photos and on social media could all help with the investigation.
 
The video shown on news reports, indicates a fairly isolated section of tracks, where she was discovered. I have seen it reported that the path she took was both a well used path, and not a well used path. I am not sure, but, I think she was just off the well used path.

I wondered about mistaken identity also, but, clearly by the picture published in the Vancouver Sun, she was a female, was not really "disguised" at all, not like some costumes.

Rest in Peace, Taylor
 
When asked if those closest to Taylor have been ruled out, LE replies that they start with the last known person to talk to her, and work out.

I would imagine that there would be alot of pictures and video taken that night, given it was Hallowe'en, and I would expect LE to request the public to come forth with those.

What towers the cell phones were pinging off and when, might assist LE in furthering the investigation also.

I feel really bad that when you google Taylor's name, there is such a contrast between her beautiful graduation picture, and the zombie picture, that may prove crucial in solving this crime. What a terrible tragedy. :(

The boyfriend of a B.C. teen murdered this week was the last to hear from her and the first to find her lying fatally injured, the girl's friends and family say.

Eighteen-year-old Taylor Van Diest died in hospital Monday night after she was found unconscious and seriously hurt near the railroad tracks that run through Armstrong.

She was reported missing after she failed to show up for a rendezvous, and her family says that boyfriend CL discovered her less than an hour later as she lay dying.

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111103/bc_taylor_van_diest_murder_thursday_111103/20111103/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
 

Thanks, that video did pack a little punch for me in terms of getting a feel for the area. Looking at that beautiful fresh face and thinking of the anguish yet another family is going through is really sad.I hope something happens soon to give this family and community some small measure of relief.It gets pretty hard to be a parent when teens want and deserve to have freedom without worrying that something this awful will happen.
 

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