Forfeiture related to Taylor manslaughter of Sarah Foord granted

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

John Wendell Keyler, found guilty of manslaughter and indignity to human remains in 2023. (File)

TAYLOR, B.C. — An application for a forfeiture order related to a local manslaughter case from several years ago has been granted.

The application was submitted in relation to the case of John Wendell Keyler, who was arrested in July 2020 after confessing to killing his girlfriend, Sarah Foord, a few weeks prior in Taylor.

According to his confession, Keyler stabbed Foord several times with a multi-tool, put her body in a garbage can, loaded it into his car, drove to a gas well near Buick Creek and buried her.

Keyler was initially charged with second-degree murder and indignity to human remains.

Following a trial, he was ultimately found not guilty of second-degree murder but instead convicted of manslaughter — as well as indignity to human remains — in January 2023.

The judge said he doubted Keyler understood the true consequences of his actions at the time of the killing, as Keyler was severely intoxicated with both alcohol and cocaine at the time.

According to the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS), on January 18th, 2023, the crown applied for an assessment to deem Keyler a “long-term [or] dangerous offender,” which would allow the court to impose one of the following:

An indeterminate sentence, which has no set end date
A determinate sentence, which has a set length and end date, followed by a ‘long-term supervision order’ of up to 10 years
A determinate sentence without a long-term supervision order afterwards.

Following some delays, Keyler’s sentencing hearing began on November 21st, 2024. On December 12th, 2024, the Crown’s application was granted and Keyler was designated as a dangerous offender.

As a result, Keyler was sentenced to 11 years for manslaughter and two years for indignity to human remains, to be served concurrently, followed by a 10-year ‘long-term supervision order.’ The court also imposed a DNA order and lifetime firearms prohibition.

Eight months later, on August 21st, 2025, the Crown submitted an application for a forfeiture order to the court related to the case.

BCPS staff say the goal of the forfeiture order was to collect items seized by police during the course of the investigation that had been overlooked during Keyler’s sentencing.

The application was reportedly granted.