No Fast Release for Mother Who Played Role in Her Son’s Death

Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, WA)

By Josh Farley, jfarley@kitsapsun.com

Kimberly Forder could be released from the state women’s prison at Purdy as soon as April. Or it could be as late as November.

PURDY A Seabeck mother convicted of manslaughter in her adopted son’s death last week will be spending more time in prison than originally expected.

Kimberly Ann Forder, 45, who pleaded guilty Feb. 21 to the second-degree manslaughter of Christopher Forder, 8, at Forder’s Seabeck-area home in 2002, will be eligible for release beginning April 26, according to an official at the Washington Corrections Center for Women.

Forder, who was given a 27-month sentence by Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Sally Olsen, has a “maximum" release date of Nov. 24, the Department of Corrections said. But Forder’s been a “model inmate" in her 18 months at the Kitsap County jail, said her attorney, Roger Hunko. And time off for good behavior will determine how much closer to the April date she’ll be released.

Christopher Forder, a foster child who was adopted by Forder, died in November 2002 of pneumonia. Forder then left the country and worked in Liberia as an independent missionary before being arrested in August 2006.

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office developed a case against Forder based in part on statements from Forder’s biological children about alleged abuse and neglect in the household. But earlier this year, the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office, which had charged Forder with homicide by abuse, offered a plea bargain for second-degree manslaughter, citing inconsistencies between witnesses testifying on the state’s behalf.

Forder had seven adopted children at the time of her arrest. They remained in the care of Robert Forder, her husband, but were flown from Liberia to Washington state in December by the U.S. State Department. They had been dropped off at a Liberian orphanage, according to the sheriff’s office, and have since been placed into foster homes around Western Washington.

It is not known whether Forder will attempt to get the children back from the state’s control.