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NEWS BRIEFS
Plea negotiations break down in social worker’s death
Steven Anthony Foster Jr., left, and Rosemary Forney are charged with murder in the death of Brenda Lee Yeager. Steven Anthony Foster Sr., right, is charged with third-degree arson, conspiracy and disposal of a body.
HUNTINGTON — The man charged with helping his son dispose of a social worker’s body likely will face a jury.
Steven Anthony Foster Sr., 51, appeared Tuesday in Cabell Circuit Court. A grand jury indictment charges him with felony third-degree arson, concealment of a human body and accessory after the fact to murder.
The allegations stem from the July 30, 2008, death of Brenda Lee Yeager of Hamlin. The 51-year-old social worker died near the Cabell-Wayne county line at a work-related home visit. Police found her burned body two days later.
Cabell County Prosecutor Chris Chiles had hoped to negotiate a guilty plea agreement with Foster, but those attempts failed, he announced Tuesday.
“Plea negotiations have broken down,” he told Ferguson.
Foster’s trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but both sides agreed to postpone the case until Sept. 23. That date is tentative because Chiles hopes to first try Foster’s son and the son’s girlfriend — Stephen Anthony Foster Jr., 23, and Rosemary Danielle Forney, 23.
The trial for Foster Jr. and Forney is set for Aug. 25. They are charged with murder, kidnapping, assault during the commission of a felony, second-degree sexual assault and concealment of a human body. Foster Jr. also faces a count of third-degree arson.
In April, Chiles told The Herald- Dispatch there would be no plea offer considered for Foster Jr. or Forney.
