Accused killer convicted of manslaughter

UPDATE: After obtaining additional information, a new story was written on this subject.

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — A Taylor man accused of killing his girlfriend and dumping her remains north of the city nearly two years ago was convicted of manslaughter and interference with human remains on Tuesday.

John Wendell Keyler was initially charged with second-degree murder and interfering with human remains, which allegedly happened on July 7th, 2020, in Taylor, B.C.

RCMP first issued a public alert about the disappearance of Sarah Foord, Keyler’s girlfriend, on July 11th, 2020, and initially believed she was travelling with Keyler, who was found days later in Surrey.

The RCMP’s Major Crimes Unit was tasked to lead the investigation on July 13th, and soon after, they arrived in Fort St. John to begin their search at Foord’s home in Taylor.

Investigators later found Foord’s remains on July 24th in a remote location 75 kilometres north of Fort St. John, and Keyler was arrested without incident, according to RCMP.

A preliminary inquiry found there was sufficient evidence to try for a conviction.

Keyler pleaded not guilty to the charges but remained in custody.

He initially opted for a jury trial in March 2022 before opting for the re-election of his trial method from a jury trial to a trial by a judge alone.

Keyler has a long list of previous convictions in Fort St. John for robbery, theft, fraud, break and enter, possessing stolen property, assault, and mischief.