Attorney's death follows work on abuse case

Prosecution of emotionally-charged child sex abuse allegations formed a backdrop to the death of a Great Falls attorney, whose body was found six days ago in a Lewistown motel.

The body of Jeffery M. Foster, 33, was discovered shortly before noon on Sept. 30 in a sleeping room at the Yogo Inn in Lewistown.

Speculation continues to swirl around his death.

Foster's body was discovered just hours after his client, Jason Terronez, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl. Earlier in the week the vehicle Foster was driving was vandalized; and although law enforcement said immediately they are not looking for any suspects in Foster's death, agents from the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation were called in to assist the Lewistown Police Department in its investigation.

"Some of the information that I have seen reported in the news and that has been related to me is not 100-percent accurate," said Jean Adams, deputy county attorney and lead prosecutor in the Terronez case. "There are a lot of rumors floating around. Some of it is outright incorrect."

What can be said with authority is this; Jeff Foster was in Lewistown to serve as defense counsel for Jason Michael Terronez. According to court documents, Terronez was charged with one count of felony sexual assault without consent for allegedly assaulting a 5-year-old girl.

Terronez was a longtime family friend of the alleged victim's family. The two families lived less than three blocks apart, and the victim attended daycare with Terronez's four children.

According to court documents, on the evening of the assault the five-year-old came to the Terronez home to spend the night with Jason Terronez' two seven-year-old daughters.

"The tensions were high in this case because of the circumstances," Adams said. "It was a sex crime against a young child. The two families had been best friends. Both families were well known in town. Because of those circumstances, tensions were high on every side."

The trial was scheduled to take four days, but lasted more than a week. The most compelling evidence for the prosecution came late in the week, when the five-year-old victim testified before the jury.

"We had some very strong evidence that was presented as testimony at the end of the week," Adams said. "Obviously the child having testified had an impact on the jury."

On Friday, Sept. 25, someone threw a chunk of concrete onto Foster's car, breaking its front windshield. No evidence has been revealed connecting the vandalism to Foster's car to the Terronez case.

"There were no valid threats of violence that we were aware of," Adams said of the situation in Lewistown. "The vehicle was parked at a private residence. There is an ongoing investigation into that. It's being considered a separate issue."

At the end of court proceedings on Tuesday, Sept. 29, the prosecution and defense in the Terronez case entered into plea agreement negotiations. Sometime after 8 p.m. on Sept. 29., Terronez pled guilty to a lesser charge of felony sexual assault, with a suggested incarceration of 25-years in the Montana State Prison without the possibility of parole until 2028. In his change of plea order, Terronez is quoted as stating his change of plea was voluntary and that he was satisfied with the services of his defense counsel.

Fifteen hours later Jeff Foster's body was found at the Yogo Inn.

It likely will be six weeks before there are any updates on what happened to Foster, according to Fergus County Coroner Dick Brown.

Brown said the state crime lab is investigating and his office wouldn't have more information until those results come back.

Despite Foster's death, the sentencing of Jason Terronez will likely continue without unusual delay. A final sentencing hearing for Terronez has not been scheduled, but Adams said it will should take place in roughly eight weeks.

"I've been in communication with Mr. Foster's law firm and I know they are trying to figure out who is going to take over the case at this point," Adams said. "There are some things that Mr. Terronez needs to do that he can do from jail without counsel for completion of his pre-sentencing investigation report. We're waiting for notification regarding substitute counsel."

A memorial service for Jeff Foster was held on Saturday, Oct. 3. He left behind a wife and three children.

"This is a case where there are no winners," Adams said. "Two – now three families have been devastated. It was a very long and very arduous case."