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| Snow on a local hill as viewed from our back patio this morning. |
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| Snow on the table in the backyard. |
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Snow in Tucson
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Shawna Forde has been sentenced to death
A Pima County Superior Court jury has sentenced Minutemen American Defense founder Shawna Forde to death for her role in the May 30, 2009, shooting deaths of Arivaca residents Raul “Junior” Flores and his daughter, Brisenia, 9.
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| Forde listens to the verdicts being read. |
Judge John S. Leonardo immediately pronounced the sentence of death on Forde or the two counts and ordered that sentencing on the other six counts be set for April 25.
It took one male and 11 female jurors approximately four hours of deliberation to reach their verdicts of death in the case. The jury left the courthouse without comment after meeting with Gina Gonzales for about 15 minutes in the jury deliberation room.
Deputy County Attorneys Rick Unklesbay and Kellie Johnson had no comment as well as they are scheduled to start picking a jury in the case of co-defendant Jason Bush on Match 15 before Judge Leonardo. Co-defendant Albert Gaxiola is set to go to trial on June 1.
Defense attorney Eric Larsen noted that the sentences would be automatically appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court. “We used to show people that killing (people who kill people) is wrong,” he said. “We are now in the process of teaching people that people who do not kill people should be killed.”
Jury actions
The jury found, on Feb. 14, that Forde, 43, was guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, the attempted first-degree murder of Gina Gonzalez, the wife of Flores and mother of Brisenia, as well as one count of burglary in the first-degree; one count of aggravated assault, serious physical injury; one count of aggravated assault, deadly weapon/dangerous instrument; one count of armed robbery; and one count of aggravated armed robbery.
On Feb. 15, the jury found that Forde was eligible for the death penalty on the two first-degree murder counts. Since then, the jury has heard mitigation evidence that the defense hopes will allow the jurors to grant Forde leniency and sentence her to live in prison as opposed to death by lethal injection. The jury began deliberations on Feb. 18 and resumed deliberations Tuesday morning and returned their verdicts shortly afternoon.
Guilt admission?
During the first closing argument for the defense last Friday attorney Jill Thorpe basically admitted that her client had been at the Flores home during the early morning hours of May 30, 2009, and that she had participated in the crimes that had taken place. “When she was in the Flores home when Junior was shot. When she was in the back room as Brisenia was shot by Jason Bush does she have the ability to develop a different strategy?” she asked, in reference to Forde’s lower intelligence quotient (IQ) and lack of ability to think on her feet.
Thorpe was asked later if her statement was an admission to the jury that Forde was guilty of the crimes she had been convicted of committing. “It is what it is,” she said, saying that it was made without agreement from her client.
Accountability
Deputy County Attorney Rick Unklesbay countered that closing argument with one of accountability for one’s actions. “There comes a time in your life when you have to take responsibility for your actions,” he argued.
Unklesbay suggested there are people who have experienced lives just as difficult or even more difficult than Forde yet they have been able to rise above those problems to lead exceptional lives. “You would think as a victim herself that she would recognize that you don’t victimize others,” he said.
The price of justice
Unklesbay suggested in his closing argument that Forde is morally culpable for the lives of Raul “Junior” Flores and Brisenia Flores and she changed the lives of Gina Gonzalez and her other daughter, Alexandra, forever. “Yet, her ego is the most important thing in her life,” he said. “There is not an ounce of evidence that she should be shown leniency,” he said. “All we ask is that you do justice.”
All first-degree murder convictions that result in the death penalty are automatically appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court. The defendant receives new appointed counsel to represent them and the process begins of reviewing the transcripts of the trial looking for errors by the court and the attorneys. Eventually, a hearing is held before the Arizona Supreme Court and depending upon the decision of that body the case is either returned to superior court or it may be appealed to the federal courts.
Is it Justice for Shawna Forde?
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| Media Rules |
The Committee for Justice for Shawna Forde is maintained the posture that the defendant will only be interviewed by reporters who have been “vetted” in advance (this might take up to five days) and who provide payment (checks, PayPal and wire transfers are accepted).
The media rules also mention that payment is expected for use of any photos posted on the Justice for Shawna Forde website. What they forgot to mention that two of the photos on the website were stolen from my blog’s website, Ricker’s Radar Screen. The photos in question are of Deputy County Attorney Rick Unklesbay and defense attorney Eric Larsen. These photos were taken by pool photographer Jonathon LeFaive with TheLookingGlass.org.
Perhaps the committee should be more concerned with its own indiscretions than any perceived indiscretions of others in the future.
Monday, February 21, 2011
A Cycle of Fences
In October 2008, Belgian filmmaker Sebastien Wielemans met and filmed Shawna Forde for a couple of hours.
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| Sebastien Wielemans |
A few months later, the project was interrupted by the arrest and two others, Albert Gaxiola and Jason Bush, near Tucson.
Forde, 43, was found guilty, Feb. 14, on two counts of first-degree murder, the attempted first-degree murder of Gina Gonzalez, the wife of murder victim Raul Flores and mother of murder victim Brisenia Flores, as well as one count of burglary in the first-degree; one count of aggravated assault, serious physical injury; one count of aggravated assault, deadly weapon/dangerous instrument; one count of armed robbery; and one count of aggravated armed robbery. Tuesday the jury found that Forde was eligible for the death penalty on the two first-degree murder counts.
Guided by the local news media, but also by a new correspondence with Forde, Wielemans decided to go back to finish his film, A Cycle of Fences.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Media coverage of Forde trial (updated)
Much has been written and said regarding media coverage of the first-degree murder trial for Shawna Forde, especially the lack of national media coverage of the case.
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| Pima County Superior Court |
On Feb. 15, the jury found that Forde was eligible for the death penalty on the two first-degree murder counts. Since then, the jury has heard mitigation evidence that the defense hopes will allow the jurors to grant Forde leniency and sentence her to live in prison as opposed to death by lethal injection. The jury began deliberations on Feb. 18 and will resume deliberations on Feb. 22.
While I represent only of the local media outlets, the Green Valley News and its affiliates, including the Everett Herald in Washington. The only other local print news representative in attendance throughout the trial has been the Arizona Daily Star.
Also in attendance has been a freelance writer representing the online news outlet The Daily Beast, a photojournalist from online Detroit publication The Looking Glass and for opening statements the Los Angeles Times sent a staff reporter who is based in Denver.
Along the way, reporters from, the New York Times, Reuters and the Christian Science Monitor have spent time in the courtroom
During the first day and a half of testimony, local television news outlets, KVOA-TV, KGUN-TV and KOLD-TV, were in court to record opening statements and testimony from victim Gina Gonzalez. Joining the local TV news outlets. Curiously, KGUN-TV was not present at any time for the closing arguments in the penalty phase last Friday. KMSB-TV has not sent anyone to report on the proceedings.
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| Judge John S. Leoanrdo |
A crew from Telemundo was present on Feb. 14 when guilty verdict were returned in the first phase of the trial. And, a reporter from CNN/New America Media has attended the trial periodically.
Last week, a crew from Al Jazera also attended a morning session of the trial. They were last heard from as they headed towards Arivaca.
Pool photos courtesy of Jonathon LeFaive
Friday, February 18, 2011
Forde’s fate rests with the jury which will return Tuesday
The life of convicted double-murderer Shawna Forde has been full of pain and suffering, at least that’s what the Pima County Superior Court jury deciding if she will live or be put to death has heard during testimony this week.
That jury deliberated a little over two hours Friday before retiring for a long weekend due to the Presidents Day Holiday. They are scheduled to resume deliberations on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
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| Forde talks with Larsen. |
Forde, 43, was found guilty, Monday, on two counts of first-degree murder, the attempted first-degree murder of Gina Gonzalez, the wife of murder victim Raul Flores and mother of murder victim Brisenia Flores, as well as one count of burglary in the first-degree; one count of aggravated assault, serious physical injury; one count of aggravated assault, deadly weapon/dangerous instrument; one count of armed robbery; and one count of aggravated armed robbery. Tuesday the jury found that Forde was eligible for the death penalty on the two first-degree murder counts.
The Final Frontier
Before the jury began deliberating a Forde’s fate, Friday, defense attorney Eric Larsen reminded them of the 1989 science fiction movie Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Larsen pointed out that in that movie Spock’s half-brother, Sybok, used his ability to reveal and heal the innermost pain of a person in order to gain the trust of key members of the crew of the Enterprise. While Dr. McCoy and Spock accept Sybok’s help, Capt. James T. Kirk refuses the Vulcan’s offer, telling him that his pain is what makes him human. “Pain is what makes Shawna Forde who she is,” Larsen said. “We carry it with us today the same way we carried it as a child.”
Larsen reminded the jury that Forde’s life has been full of pain and anguish and that has influenced her conduct in her adult life. “You can only be happy from the inside,” he said. “{She doesn’t know that.”
Guilt admission?
During the first closing argument for the defense, attorney Jill Thorpe basically admitted that her client had been at the Flores home during the early morning hours of May 30, 2009, and that she had participated in the crimes that had taken place. “When she was in the Flores home when Junior was shot. When she was in the back room as Brisenia was shot by Jason Bush does she have the ability to develop a different strategy?” she asked, in reference to Forde’s lower intelligence quotient (IQ) and lack of ability to think on her feet.
Thorpe was asked later if her statement was an admission to the jury that Forde was guilty of the crimes she had been convicted of committing. “It is what it is,” she said, saying that it was made without agreement from her client.
Thorpe also suggested to the jury that a verdict for the death penalty would feed Forde’s ego. “Shawna would be a celebrity,” she argued. “Give her life and she will fade into the prison community and she will be a nobody.”
Accountability
Deputy County Attorney Rick Unklesbay countered that argument with one of accountability for one’s actions. “There comes a time in your life when you have to take responsibility for your actions,” he argued.
Unklesbay suggested there are people who have experienced lives just as difficult or even more difficult than Forde yet they have been able to rise above those problems to lead exceptional lives. “You would think as a victim herself that she would recognize that you don’t victimize others,” he said.
This case has not been the first time Unklesbay and Larsen have opposed each other, but it may be the last as Larsen intends to retire in August. “Mr. Unklesbay and I have gone around for 20 years on the issues of excuse versus behavior,” he said, smiling in Unklesbay’s direction. “Reasonable minds can differ as to what the appropriate penalty should be. They want you to trust them when they say death is the appropriate penalty.”
Larsen told the jury that it was up to them as to the appropriate penalty should be in this case. “We’re talking about the value of human life,” he said. “Nothing can be more basic than that. Is her life so invaluable that it has to be taken?”
The price of justice
Unklesbay suggested that Forde is morally culpable for the lives of Raul “Junior” Flores and Brisenia Flores and she changed the lives of Gina Gonzalez and her other daughter, Alexandra, forever. “Yet, her ego is the most important thing in her life,” he said. Unklesbay was unaware that Forde had offered, through her attorney, to grant interviews to any member of the news media as long as they showed up with a check.
As to what the final verdict should be, Unklesbay was clear. “There is not an ounce of evidence that she should be shown leniency,” he said. “All we ask is that you do justice.”
Pool photos courtesy of Jonathon LeFaive
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Psychologist testifies that Forde expressed empathy and remorse
A clinical forensic psychologist who interviewed and evaluated convicted double murder Shawna Forde testified, Thursday, that she expressed remorse and empathy for victim Gina Gonzalez.
A Pima County Superior Court jury found, Monday, that Forde was guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, the attempted first-degree murder of Gina Gonzalez, the wife of Raul Flores and mother of Brisenia Flores, as well as one count of burglary in the first-degree; one count of aggravated assault, serious physical injury; one count of aggravated assault, deadly weapon/dangerous instrument; one count of armed robbery; and one count of aggravated armed robbery. Tuesday the jury found that Forde was eligible for the death penalty on the two first-degree murder counts.
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| Dr. Judith Becker |
Dr. Judith Becker, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Arizona, testified that she met with Forde for 6-7 hours over a period of four meetings in order to prepare her report in this case and to develop a diagnosis.
Remorse and empathy
Besides tests that Becker administered to the defendant, Becker conducted a clinical interview during which Forde told her that she felt remorse for Gonzalez. “She said she had lost a child and knew what it was like to lose a child,” she said.
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| Terry Greene Sterling |
After the jury had returned the guilty verdicts, Forde spoke with veteran reporter Terry Greene Sterling for an article in the online news site The Daily Beast. “I know in her mind,” Forde said of Gonzalez, “I am guilty and she hates me. I know her tragedy is extremely sad.” But on the other hand, she said “people shouldn’t deal drugs if they have kids.” (No drugs were found in the trailer.)
Forde told me she’d “lost a daughter” and she knows from experience Gonzalez will feel pain “the rest of her life” and her “tragedy is extremely sad.” “I wish I could say I was sorry it happened,” Forde said. “I am not sorry on my behalf because I didn’t do it.”
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| Brisenia Flores |
Defense attorney Jill Thorpe asked Becker if she would be surprised to learn that Forde had “called a press conference” where the statement to Sterling was made on the record. “That does not surprise me,” she said. “It shows poor judgment.”
Diagnosis
Earlier in her testimony, Becker said she found “mood disorder not otherwise specified” when she examined Forde. She said she also found “chronic traumatic stress disorder,” as well as “personality disorder not otherwise specified, with borderline and narcissistic tendencies.”
Becker testified that narcissistic traits include wanting to be viewed “as a big deal, as someone very important” who tends to exhibit “attention-getting behavior.”
The jury asked Becker if victims of abusive have murdered people and if they are able to know right from wrong. “There have been victims of abuse who have committed murder,” she testified. “Is it possible for them to know right from wrong? Absolutely.”
The jury also asked Becker if it would be possible for someone like Forde to lead a complex operation like Minuteman American Defense. “Not very effectively,” she testified.
Finally, Becker was asked in a follow-up question if Forde was co-dependent. “Because of her fears of abandonment she needs a man in her life,” Becker testified.
Pool photos courtesy of Gina Gonzalez and Jonathon LeFaive
Mitigation specialist questioned about stolen jewelry
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| Forde speaks with attorney Eric Larsen. |
Mitigation specialist Margaret DiFrank denied Thursday that she knew the contents of letters convicted double murderer Shawna Forde had sent to her children soliciting their testimony in this case.
The jury found, Monday, that Forde was guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, the attempted first-degree murder of Gina Gonzalez, the wife of Raul Flores and mother of Brisenia Flores, as well as one count of burglary in the first-degree; one count of aggravated assault, serious physical injury; one count of aggravated assault, deadly weapon/dangerous instrument; one count of armed robbery; and one count of aggravated armed robbery. Tuesday the jury found that Forde was eligible for the death penalty on the two first-degree murder counts.
The jewelry
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| Jaszmin and Devon Eddy |
During the first phase of the trial there was testimony that Forde had sent letters to her son, Devon Eddy, and her daughter, Jaszmin Eddy, soliciting their testimony to identify pieces of jewelry found Forde’s purse at the time she was arrested as her own. The jewelry had previously been identified as belonging to a victim in the case, Gina Gonzalez.
During cross-examination, DiFrank was asked by Deputy County Attorney Kellie Johnson if she and defense attorney Jill Thorpe had shown pictures of the recovered jewelry when they visited with Jaszmin Eddy prior to the start of this trial. “I took some notes while Ms. Thorpe showed her photos,” she said. “She identified some of the items as her mother’s jewelry.”
Johnson asked DiFrank if she was aware of the letters sent by Forde to her daughter soliciting testimony in her favor. “I knew it existed, but hadn’t seen it,” she admitted.
Johnson noted that Forde’s daughter had been scheduled to travel to Tucson to testify during the trial. “Shawna called and told her not to come,” DiFrank said.
Fond memories
Earlier, DiFrank read a declaratory statement from Forde’s son Devon Eddy (who prefers to use surname of his stepfather James Duffy, Forde’s fourth husband). In the statement, which was read by DiFrank, Forde’s son said her mother was a “great cook,” had made an effort to participate in special times like going to movies and playing catch with a baseball. He also commented on her skills as a hair stylist. “My friends would go to her because she was great at cutting hair,” the statement said.
Devon Eddy’s declaratory statement concluded with a plea to the jury. “I don’t want my mother to be sentenced to death,” the statement said. “I need my mom.”
Full of holes
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| Margaret DiFrank |
Earlier in her testimony, DiFrank had testified that she had compiled a 52-page mitigation report on behalf of the defense in preparation for this trial. Johnson asked her about how much of the report is based upon known facts and how much was based upon her analysis and conjecture. “This is your opinion,” Johnson said, while asking a question. You had to take inconsistent information and decide which is true.”
Johnson made reference to DiFrank’s comments on direct examination about trying to sort out legend from fact. “Not all of your report is legend and unverifiable,” she said to DiFrank. “Much of it is.”
Johnson asked DiFrank if there was any verification of the allegations Forde had leveled at her adoptive father Harold “Jeep” Breitgham. DiFrank replied that she was unable to locate any police or court records and that the child protective agency in Washington refused to provide any records. “I never stated that he was indicted,” DiFrank clarified. “There was a police report. There was an investigation.”
DiFrank then explained that Everett Police Department records from that era had been shipped off for storage and that no one was able to locate them and they were likely to have been destroyed. “Some of the things do come from Ms. Forde,” she said. “The details about what kinds of things that were done to her is an abusive situation come from Shawna Forde.”
Johnson pointed out another inconsistency between DiFrank’s report and the testimony of Sharon Mooreland, a counselor at Echo Glen Children’s Center. DiFrank’s report quoted Mooreland described Forde as “bright, articulate and intelligent.” Johnson asked DiFrank if Mooreland denied saying that during her testimony, Wednesday. “That’s correct,” she admitted.
Cousin Joey
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| Joseph Chlebik |
The jury also heard pre-recorded testimony from Forde’s cousin Joseph Chlebik during the morning session Thursday. Chlebik defended the honor of Harold “Jeep” Breitgham against allegations that he had sexually abused consistently between ages five and 12.
Pool photos courtesy of Jonathon LeFaive
Forde has decided against speaking to the jury
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| Forde (left) speaks with lawyer Eric Larsen. |
The jury found, Monday, that Forde was guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, the attempted first-degree murder of Gina Gonzalez, the wife of Raul Flores and mother of Brisenia Flores, as well as one count of burglary in the first-degree; one count of aggravated assault, serious physical injury; one count of aggravated assault, deadly weapon/dangerous instrument; one count of armed robbery; and one count of aggravated armed robbery. Tuesday the jury found that Forde was eligible for the death penalty on the two first-degree murder counts.
Since Tuesday, the jury has been hearing mitigation evidence that the defense hopes will allow the jurors to grant Forde leniency and sentence her to live in prison as opposed to death by lethal injection.
Prior to closing arguments in the penalty phase of the trial, the defendant is provided the opportunity to offer an explanation for the crime or crimes through allocution. Allocution “is intended to provide closure for victims or their families by removing any doubt as to the exact nature of the defendant's guilt in the crime,” according to USLegal.com.
At this point, the defense is optimistic that their mitigation evidence will conclude tomorrow and the state may present some brief rebuttal evidence prior to closing arguments. If the jury begins its deliberations on Friday and does not reach a verdict prior to 5 p.m. it is likely that deliberations will resume next Tuesday morning as Monday is a court holiday in honor of President’s Day.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Life in prison a viable option to serve justice
Jurors in the Shawna Forde trial are weighing whether Forde should be sentenced to death for felony murder in the 2009 slayings of Brisenia Flores, 9, and her father, Raul Flores. They have already delivered eight guilty verdicts, holding Forde criminally responsible for these deaths.
The Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish the Death Penalty urges the jurors and all Arizonans to consider the alternative to execution – life in prison without parole. It is less costly; it protects the public; and it will spare the Flores family from years – if not decades – without real closure, punctuated by protracted court proceedings that are needed to ensure that the ultimate penalty is administered in keeping with current law.
“The issue of capital punishment is greater that any one court case,” said CAADP President Bob Schwartz. “Illinois legislators recently voted to abolish capital punishment and earlier this week, Montana senators voted to end executions there. Those two states are poised to join the 15 other states and 94 nations where state-ordered executions are not allowed.
“Despite what you might hear, our studies show that a significant percentage of Arizonans oppose the death penalty,” Schwartz said. “If the Forde jury doesn’t condemn her to death, Pima County Superior Court Judge John S. Leonardo has the option of choosing between life in prison with parole possible after 25 years and life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“In Arizona, no inmate in recent years who has been sentenced to life with parole possible after 25 years has ever been released,” Schwartz said. “Even when the clemency board has approved release, governors have refused to release the inmate.
“In effect, this means that Forde and others convicted of first-degree murder in Arizona with life sentences will die in prison,” Schwartz said. “It costs more than $2 million more per inmate on death row than to house those sentenced to life in prison.
“Many Arizonans, including CAADP members, would rather that prosecutors seek life without the possibility of parole and use the money that would be spent on executions on pursuits that would add to the public safety, such as funding budget-challenged cold-case murder units,” Schwartz said.
“The civilized world has ended capital punishment,” Schwartz said. “It’s time Arizona did the same.”
CONTACT: A.J. Flick, (520) 331-8534, ajflick@hotmail.com
Forensic neuropsychologist testifies that Forde suffers from brain damage
A forensic neuropsychologist hired by the defense team for convicted double murderer Shawna Forde testified, Wednesday, that Forde had told him she has a top role in the next presidential election.
A Pima County Superior Court jury found, Monday, that Forde was guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, the attempted first-degree murder of Gina Gonzalez, the wife of Raul Flores and mother of Brisenia Flores, as well as one count of burglary in the first-degree; one count of aggravated assault, serious physical injury; one count of aggravated assault, deadly weapon/dangerous instrument; one count of armed robbery; and one count of aggravated armed robbery. Tuesday the jury found that Forde was eligible for the death penalty on the two first-degree murder counts.
Presidential politics
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| Dr. James P. Sullivan |
Dr. James P. Sullivan testified, Wednesday, that Forde told him during a clinical interview that she would be helping Arizona’s governor get elected to the highest office in the land. “She told me she was going to be the lead person in Jan Brewer’s campaign for president of the United States,” he testified.
“In your report you indicated that her history was complete with exaggerations and embellishments,” asked Deputy County Attorney Rick Unklesbay, during cross-examination.
“She said things to me that didn’t sound true and trustworthy,” Sullivan replied. “It’s called a personality dysfunction.”
“She was willing to portray herself as something she wasn’t,” Unklesbay asked.
“Her attitude was that you’re wasting your time,” Sullivan said. “I’m a genius.”
IQ
Sullivan had, earlier, testified that he had met with Forde four times for almost 12 hours in preparing his report. Besides conducting a clinical interview Sullivan gave Forde a number of tests. He said that prior to his involvement in the case, Forde’s intelligence quotient (IQ) was placed at 86 in the 18th percentile. “Out of 100 people in Ms. Forde’s age group 82 would do better than her,” Sullivan testified.
Sullivan also testified that Forde’s verbal IQ was 93 in the 32nd percentile and that her performance IQ was 88 in the 21st percentile. Sullivan said the percentile rankings have “to do with relative standing in the rest of the population.” At age 4-5 when she was adopted, Forde’s IQ was calculated at 116.
Sullivan was asked if someone could fake an IQ test. “I probably could,” he told defense attorney Eric Larsen. Larsen asked if he could fake an IQ test. “No,” was Sullivan’s answer.
Unklesbay told Sullivan that the jury would hear a recorded jail phone call later this week in which Forde brags to a friend that she faked the IQ test. During that call Forde claimed her IQ was actually 132. “I wouldn’t buy that,” Sullivan commented. “Her ego is much more important to her than anything else.”
Poor judgement
Sullivan said Forde was not capable of evaluating or judging the talents of not only herself but others. “She’s a poor judge of herself and her own abilities,” he said. “People like that are unable to judge others.”
The jury asked Sullivan if any of the tests he gave to Forde could show if she is able to tell right from wrong. “None of the tests have anything to do with telling right from wrong,” he testified.
Forde jury told that adoptive fathers molested her
The Pima County Superior Court jury hearing the penalty phase of the death penalty case of Minuteman American Defense founder Shawna Forde was told Wednesday morning that she had been molested at an early age and continuously between the ages of five and 12 years-old.
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| Forde trauma timeline |
The jury found, Monday, that Forde was guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, the attempted first-degree murder of Gina Gonzalez, the wife of Raul Flores and mother of Brisenia Flores, as well as one count of burglary in the first-degree; one count of aggravated assault, serious physical injury; one count of aggravated assault, deadly weapon/dangerous instrument; one count of armed robbery; and one count of aggravated armed robbery. Tuesday the jury found that Forde was eligible for the death penalty on the two first-degree murder counts.
Mom
Wednesday, Forde’s birth mother Rena Caudle via a pre-recorded video presentation told the jury that she learned that her daughter confided about 10 years ago that her stepfather had molested her. This revelation put behavior as a child into a clearer perspective. “We were having trouble with Shawna,” she said. “She would smear feces on the wall.”
Caudle also said that Shawna was jealous of her younger half-sister, who was also named Rena. “One day I came out of the bathroom and she was holding a pillow over Rena’s face,” she recalled. “I was really scared.”
Private investigator/mitigation specialist Margaret DiFrank said she learned that Ken Caudle, another stepfather, had mistreated Forde as a child. “One time he beat Shawna so bad with a belt buckles that he felt possessed,” she testified.
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| Margaret DiFrank |
Caudle said she consulted with an elder in the Jehovah’s Witnesses as to what she should do. She said that elder advised her to adopt her out to a family with no children, which she did. Harold and Patricia Breitgham adopted Forde in October 1971. “In the adoption records, she talked about how Shawna had been biting on little Rena,” said DiFrank.
DiFrank said Forde’s birth mother tried to maintain a relationship with her daughter after she gave her up for adoption by visiting her at the Breitgham’s. The problem was Forde had lived in so many households up until that time she was craving stability. “Every time a car pulled into the driveway at the Breitgham’s Shawna would start screaming ‘Please don’t take me. Please don’t take me,’” DiFrank testified. “For two weeks after Rena and Ken would visit, Shawna would have nightmares for two weeks.”
Adoption
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| Patricia Breitgham on video. |
DiFrank told the jury that about six months after the adoption, Harold began molesting Forde, who was then 5-years-old, virtually every afternoon. “Mr. Breitgham insisted that Shawna perform oral sex on him and he would perform oral sex on her,” she testified. “He would even pay her afterwards.”
DiFrank said Breitgham, who was an engineer at Boeing Aircraft, would take frequent trips to Yakima. He insisted that Forde accompany him on those car trips. “He insisted that Shawna ride with him completely undressed,” DiFrank said, adding that numerous sex acts were performed as they drove along.
After Forde reached age 12 the Breitgham’s decided to take her to the Deaconess Children’s Home. Ironically, Forde’s mother had stayed there when she was young. “The Breitgham’s abandoned her at the doorstep,” he said.
During the afternoon session, the jury heard from Washington real estate broker Sharon Mooreland who knew Forde as a teenager by the name of Shawna Breitgham. Mooreland was a counselor at the Echo Glen Children’s Center. She said Forde had been sentenced to the facility as punishment for convictions on charges of prostitution and theft. “It was very important for Shawna to be loved, to be important, to have value,” she testified.
Rena Jr. testifies
The jury also heard from Rena Lee Fitzgerald, the half-sister Forde reportedly tried to smother with a pillow at age four. “I first met her when I was 16,” Fitzgerald testified. “We grew to be very close.”
Fitzgerald was asked about Rena Caudle, the mother she shares with Forde. “I think my mother is suffering from personality disorders,” she testified. Fitzgerald also agreed that Caudle attempts to play each of her children off against each other.
The Caudles were members of the Jehovah Witnesses for about 18 years. Fitzgerald said she had been the victim of dis-fellowship herself and was regularly shunned by her own parents. “They refused to attend my wedding,” she said. “When I got pregnant with my son I told them it was all or nothing.” Thus, Fitzgerald and her family are no longer shunned.
Fitzgerald said the last time she had seen Forde, prior to Wednesday, was June 2008 when visiting their mother at Redding, Calif.
Pool photos courtesy of Jonathon LeFaive
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