Warren Leslie Forrest

Case overview

Warren Leslie Forrest was described as 25 years old, 5’9” tall, 155 lbs, with light brown shoulder length hair, blue eyes and a bushy mustache. At the time of his arrest he lived on 18th Ave. in Battleground WA. He was married and the father of two children.

Forrest was born in Vancouver WA, and attended Vancouver schools. He served in the US Army as a Spec. 5, missile crew service gunner, in Vietnam. In 1970, he attended the North American School of Conservation in Newport Beach, CA. He also lived in Texas at some point.

Timeline

• January 1, 1971 — Forrest worked for the Clark County Parks and Recreation Dept.
• December 7, 1971 — Jamie Grissim disappeared without a trace after leaving their foster home for Fort Vancouver High School.
• February 11, 1972 — Barbara Ann Derry was last seen hitchhiking along State Hwy. 14 East from Vancouver.
• March 29, 1972 — Barbara Ann Derry’s body was found at the bottom of the silo at the Grist Mill in Northern Clark County.
• October 2, 1974 — Forrest’s work with the Clark County Parks and Recreation Dept. ended.
• July 11, 1974 — Krista Kay Blake was last seen getting into a blue van driven by a white male at the area of 29th and “K” St. in Vancouver.
• July 17, 1974 — A 15 year old girl was reported kidnapped and assaulted.
• August 2, 1974 — Krista Valenzuela disappeared.
• October 1, 1974 — A 20 year old woman was kidnapped and assaulted.
• October 12, 1974 — A reported double homicide was discovered involving one identified victim (Carol Valenzuela) and one unidentified female.
• May 31, 1974 — Gloria Nadine Knutson was last seen in downtown Vancouver.
• May 9, 1978 — Gloria Nadine Knutson was found near Lacamas Lake and positively identified.
• April 26, 1979 — Forrest was sentenced to life in prison.
• 2011 — Forrest was up for parole; the parole board was scheduled to make a decision in the next few weeks.

Background

Forrest owned a 1973 blue Ford van bearing Washington license plate.

When arrested for the Wightman murder, he plead not guilty to this charge by reason of insanity and was sentenced to commitment at Western States Mental Hospital, Steillacum, WA, based on the examination by three local physiatrists.

On the dates of the abductions, Forrest was either off, or took the day off early, from work.

In 1979, Forrest stood trial for murder in the one case prosecutors had the most physical evidence, which they could bring to trial quickly to keep him off the streets after his release from the mental hospital, which was imminent. The other cases were described as still open, active cases.

Forrest was found guilty of murder and sent to Washington State Penitentiary with a life sentence. The narrative states that he was convicted before mandatory sentencing laws, and he would be eligible for parole in 2014.

The offence

Victims and allegations attributed to Forrest

Barbara Ann Derry (age 18)

Barbara Ann Derry was age 18, 5’1” tall, 115 lbs, living on “W” St., Vancouver WA, a Clark College student. She was last seen hitchhiking along State Hwy. 14 East from Vancouver on February 11, 1972.

Her body was found on March 29 at the bottom of the silo at the Grist Mill, in Northern Clark County, a county park. The body was covered with boards and debris, partially disrobed, missing a bra. Identification was established through dentals. The cause of death was discovered to have been caused by one stab wound to the heart, with a narrow bladed instrument. Derry had many male friends and was known to hitchhike frequently.

Krista Kay Blake (age 19)

Krista Kay Blake was age 19 and lived on NE 119th St., Vancouver WA. She was last seen on July 11, 1974, getting into a blue van driven by a white male in the area of 29th and “K” St. in Vancouver. She was a known hitchhiker. Later, two other witnesses observed the victim, suspect and blue van together in the area of Lewisville Park sometime before the date of her disappearance.

Blake’s body was found in a shallow grave on Clark County Parks property at “Tukes Mountain.” The victim was partially disrobed and missing a bra. Witnesses related they had seen a blue van at the Tukes Mountain site on or about the date Blake was last seen. Her hands and feet were “hogtied” behind her with baling twine.

Fifteen-year-old girl from Ridgefield, WA (age 15)

On July 17, 1974, a reported kidnap/assault involved a 15 year old girl living in Ridgefield, WA. She was also a regular hitchhiker.

She was picked up by the suspect in a blue van in the area of State Hwy 502 East of Ridgefield WA one week after the disappearance of Krista Blake. Inside the vehicle, she was held at knife point and driven 13 miles to the Tukes Mountain area. During that time, the suspect mentioned he would like to take her to Texas and also he was to get some money for delivering her to several other males.

At the Tukes Mountain area, the van was parked at the gate to the park. She was beaten while still in the van, then taken into the woods and hogtied to a tree with the same type baling twine, just 100 ft. from Blake’s grave. The victim’s bra was cut off and used as a gag. The suspect left her tied at this location, saying he would return later.

She was successful in chewing through her bonds and escaped. She hid in a nearby field until daybreak, when she was found by a Parks employee. The suspect returned during the night and picked up the materials he had used to bind her, and the bra he had used as a gag. Two witnesses confirmed the van was at the site during that period.

The narrative states that a positive suspect was developed from this case, and the victim identified in a line up the one responsible for her kidnap and assault.

Twenty-year-old woman (age 20) from Camas, WA

On October 1, 1974, a kidnap/assault involved a 20 year old woman living on NE 6th Ave., Camas WA. She was standing on a street corner in downtown Portland when the suspect stopped his blue van and talked to her. He said he was working on a thesis for class work at Seattle University. He offered her money to pose for him.

She accompanied him into the Washington Park area of Portland, where he threatened her with a knife and bound her with tape. He transported her about 25 miles to Lacamas Park, a heavily wooded sparsely populated area of Clark County. There she was sexually assaulted and shot in the chest with hand honed darts from a .177 ca. dart pistol.

She was led by a rope around her neck approximately 100 ft. down a path, sat on a log, then choked unconscientious. She was stabbed her 5 times in the chest area. Her naked body was laid beside a log and covered with brush and debris, apparently left for dead.

The narrative states that the victim was not mortally wounded, and after about two hours she made her way to a public road where she found assistance.

The narrative states that the gun, tape, baling twine similar to what was used on other victims and other items used on the victim were taken from a foot locker in the suspect’s van, and articles belonging to the victim were found in the suspect’s home. It also states that he had taken leave from work to keep a doctor’s appointment in Portland on the day of the kidnap/assault.

The victim readily identified the suspect in a lineup.

Double homicide: Carol Valenzuela (age 18) and one unidentified female

Found October 12, 1974, a reported double homicide involved one victim as yet unidentified, and one being identified as Carol Valenzuela, age 18 years. It states that later Carol Valenzuela was determined to be a victim of Ted Bundy.

Both female victims were found in shallow graves in the Dole Valley Area of Clark County, an area the suspect was known to have frequented. The bodies were found about 100 ft. from each other.

The narrative states that the unidentified female was estimated to have died two to six weeks prior to Valenzuela’s disappearance on August 2, 1974, approximately 2-3 weeks after the 15 year old’s kidnap/assault and the Blake homicide. It states that the gravesites were near large logs, and that the unidentified victim’s remains were believed to have been placed there approximately one month prior to Valenzuela.

The unidentified victim was determined to be a white female, 17-23 yrs, 5’5 -5’7 tall and approximately 125 lbs, with long dark brown hair. It states that Valenzuela was a white female, 18 yrs., from the Camas WA area. It further states that she was believed to have been hitchhiking from the Camas area on the date of her disappearance and that she died possibly from suffocation.

Gloria Nadine Knutson (age unknown)

Gloria Nadine Knutson was found May 9, and the narrative states her last seen date as May 31, 1974 in downtown Vancouver. Her age was listed as unknown. She was located near Lacamas Lake and positively identified.

The narrative states this made six victims of suspect Warren Forrest and one of Ted Bundy’s. It also states that if Jamie was indeed a victim, she would be no. 7 for Forrest and no. 8 in Clark County.

Jamie Grissim (disappearance; body never found)

Nearly forty years earlier, Jamie Grissim of Vancouver disappeared without a trace. Investigators suspected she was murdered, and they had never found her body. The evidence was described as pointing to one man: Warren Forrest.

Jamie Grissim was described as 14 years old. Her sister Starr Lara of Hillsboro described that when she got home she noticed her sister wasn’t home and asked “where’s Jamie?” Starr Lara told the parole board that the last time she saw her sister, Jamie had left their foster home for Fort Vancouver High School. Jamie attended classes but never came back.

At the time, Starr was told that her sister had simply run away. Five months later Jamie’s student ID and other belongings were found near Sunset Falls Campground in remote Clark County. The bodies of two other women were later found nearby.

A Clark County Sheriff’s Office document from 1978 formally linked Forrest to Grissim’s disappearance, as well as murders or attacks on six other women. A 2006 email from a Clark County detective stated: “it’s suspected that Jamie Grissim is the first victim of Warren Leslie Forrest, who is suspected of killing eight women Clark County.”

Investigation and links

The narrative also states that detectives suspected Forrest killed Grissim and other teenage girls, and that prosecutors could only make one case stick.

Arrest and plea

The narrative states that when Forrest was arrested for the Wightman murder, he plead not guilty by reason of insanity. He was sentenced to commitment at Western States Mental Hospital, Steillacum, WA, based on examination by three local physiatrists.

Trial

The narrative states that in 1979 Forrest stood trial for murder in the one case prosecutors had the most physical evidence, so they could bring it to trial quickly to keep him off the streets after his release from the mental hospital, which was imminent.

It states that he was convicted before mandatory sentencing laws, and he would be eligible for parole in 2014.

Sentencing

Forrest was sentenced to commitment at Western States Mental Hospital, Steillacum, WA, based on examination by three local physiatrists, after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity to the Wightman murder.

He later was found guilty of murder and sent to Washington State Penitentiary with a life sentence.

He was sentenced to life in prison on April 26, 1979.

Appeals

No appeals information was included in the provided text.

Outcome

The narrative states that Forrest was convicted of murdering 19-year-old Krista Blake in the woods of Tukes Mountain just east of Battle Ground and received a life sentence. It also states he stood trial for murder in 1979 for the one case prosecutors had the most physical evidence, described as being able to bring it to trial quickly to keep him off the streets after release from the mental hospital.

Aftermath and parole materials

The narrative states that Forrest was up for parole and went before the parole board on Tuesday in a closed-door meeting at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen, Wash.

The board’s decision was expected in the next few weeks. The narrative states he was not eligible for parole until 2014, and that the parole board would make their decision in the next few weeks.

Family members lobbied the parole board to keep Forrest behind bars. Jamie’s sister Starr Lara told the parole board: “When I got home I noticed she wasn’t home and I said ‘where’s Jamie?’” She said: “I think of my sister every day, especially when I get up and when I go to bed,” and added: “What happened to her, the not knowing is the hardest part,” and: “Where is she? And he knows, I know he knows.”

Denny Hunter, a retired Clark County deputy prosecutor and the prosecutor who put Forrest in prison, said: “What he did to them was probably the most cruel behavior I’ve probably ever experienced,” and: “The story of Warren Forrest is a horrible story,”.

Blake’s sister Zela said: “He tortured her, shot her with a dart gun and cut her throat and then he buried her in a very shallow grave,” and did not want her full name used in the article.

Valerie, Blake’s other sister, said: “Warren Forrest is a monster and no amount of time in prison will change that,” and did not want her last name published.

Parole board member Dennis Thaut was quoted saying: “this is a very, very serious history to overcome.”

The narrative also states that family members didn’t get to talk face-to-face with Forrest during the parole hearing, but Forrest would receive copies of statements from them.

If Forrest was granted parole, the narrative stated he would spend the next three years before his release learning how to live on the outside, including “things like how to use a cell phone.”

Investigators hoped they would still get a tip that would lead them to Jamie Grissim’s body.

Other details

In high school, Forrest was captain of the track team.

The narrative states that Forrest pleaded guilty by way of insanity and was sent to the state mental hospital near Tacoma for five years, described as near Tacoma.

The narrative states that the 15-year-old Ridgefield girl testified in court he “tied her head to one tree and her legs to another. Later, she chewed through the twine and struggled out of a loop holding her legs. With hands and ankles still tied, she hopped away.” It also states this was “just 169 feet away from where hikers found Blake’s body.”

The narrative states that Forrest had taken leave from work to keep a doctor’s appointment in Portland on the day of the kidnap/assault.

A discussion of whether there would be six victims plus one of Ted Bundy’s is included: it states “This makes six victims of suspect Warren Forrest and one of Ted Bundy’s.” It further states that if Jamie was indeed a victim she would be no. 7 for Forrest and no. 8 in Clark County.

The text included a note that “The bodies were never found” in connection with Jamie Grissim.