Kelly Forbes

Case record: Kelly Forbes

Background

Kelly Forbes, 29, married Michael Forbes, 50, after knowing each other for about a year. The couple lived together at their home in Merrick, Long Island, New York. Kelly Forbes had a nine-year-old daughter, and Michael Forbes had a 15-year-old daughter who spoke at the trial.

Kelly Forbes described her life in Trinidad as not easy. She said that when she was 19 years old she was kidnapped and assaulted at gunpoint. She said that a few years later she became pregnant with her daughter, Kadeshja, and that she became a single parent. She said that when she was 24, she was raped. She said that thereafter she moved to the United States to live with her brothers and believed her daughter would have a better life and more opportunity.

Kelly Forbes said she met Michael Forbes while working at a beauty salon. She said he pursued her with flowers, gifts and trips and promised her and her daughter a better life. She said he promised to settle down and build a family together.

Kelly Forbes said she encouraged Michael Forbes to stop smoking and drinking, to eat better, and to start exercising. She said she never asked him for anything and only wanted a safe, stable home for her daughter. She said after the wedding in 2007 Michael changed and began to isolate her from her family and friends. She said he did not want her to work and did not want her to spend time with her daughter.

Kelly Forbes said Michael began to abuse her emotionally, mentally and physically. She said he told her not to go to see her brothers because he had enemies in Brooklyn. She said that on the day Michael Forbes died, she said it was Michael who wrapped the electrical cord around her neck. She said she survived by the grace of God and His mercy, and that she feared for her life and her daughter’s life. She said she prayed for forgiveness and hoped that in time Michael Forbes’ family would understand that she acted in self-defence, and asked the judge to show mercy and understanding when sentencing her.

The offence

Kelly Forbes strangled Michael Forbes to death. She claimed the killing was self-defence after struggling with an abusive man.

Kelly Forbes told police that the couple quarreled the previous night and that Michael slept in another room. She said that “He came at me with the cord,” and that she kneed him in the groin and used the cord to choke him. She said, “I was defending myself.”

At the trial, Judge Jerald Carter spoke about the way in which Kelly Forbes killed her husband, saying:

"This is not like a knifing. It's not like a shooting," Carter said. "To strangle someone takes time. It takes intent."

The killing occurred in November 2007 at the couple’s home in Merrick, Long Island, New York. A 911 call was played in court. A portion of the 911 call was:

Forbes: "My husband was choking me this morning."
911 Operator: "OK, tell me where you are."

Authorities said the strangling occurred while Kelly Forbes’ 7-year-old daughter slept nearby. Prosecutors said Kelly Forbes waited more than an hour to call 911 after killing her husband.

Investigation

During the trial, a text message was presented. Kelly Forbes wrote to her paramour, Jeremy Bryant, 31, “No I did it” in a text message she apparently sent at 8:19 a.m. on 21 November 2007 in response to questions he texted her.

Jeremy Bryant testified that Kelly Forbes admitted killing Michael Forbes in the text message and also called him on her cell phone hysterically shortly afterward. Bryant said when he asked what happened, “She said they had argued the night before and she blacked out. When she came to, he was gone.”

Bryant testified that he met Kelly Forbes when the newlywed contacted him online through his MySpace profile. He said after “chit-chatting” for a few months they met in person in October and engaged in sexual trysts at his home in Hempstead. When asked if he observed any bruises or marks on her lover’s body while they were intimate, Bryant testified, “No, I never saw any signs of physical abuse.”

Kelly Forbes’ defence lawyer, Anthony Capetola, portrayed her as a victim of spousal abuse and suggested the strangling was an act of “self-defense.”

Prosecutors said Kelly Forbes had “not a scratch on her neck and not a mark on her face” after killing Michael Forbes and that before dialing 911 she began text messaging her boyfriend.

Arrest and detention

Kelly Forbes was ordered held without bail on 22 November 2007 after she was charged with strangling her husband. Police said she was strangling her 250-pound husband in their upper middle-class home while her 7-year-old daughter slept nearby.

Trial

A jury convicted Kelly Forbes of manslaughter, rejecting her claims of self-defence.

District Attorney Kathleen Rice said after the verdict that jurors “saw through the defense's case and held Mrs. Forbes accountable for her actions.”

The trial began on 2 June 2008. A dramatic 911 call made by Kelly Forbes was played in court. Prosecutors portrayed Kelly Forbes as a “cold-blooded killer,” strangling her husband with a large electrical cord.

Michael Forbes father testified that he was trying to dismiss allegations of abuse, and said:

"He treated her like a queen," he said. "There's a Mercedes sitting in the garage that he bought for her. A hundred miles on it."

Kelly Forbes’ husband was described as 250 pounds and stood 6-feet-1, and Kelly Forbes was described as 5-feet-5 and weighing 150 pounds.

Kelly Forbes’ 15-year-old daughter spoke at the trial. Addressing Kelly Forbes, she said:

"why did you do this to my father? He was my best friend. One day you will be able to see your daughter again, but my father will still be dead."

Sentencing

Kelly Chadee-Forbes pleaded for mercy before sentencing. She told Judge Jerald Carter she was only defending herself when she wrapped an electrical cord around the neck of her husband of only two months, and killed him. Judge Carter was not impressed and sentenced the 29-year-old beautician to jail for 21 years.

Kelly Forbes made a plea for mercy, saying:

“My life in Trinidad was not easy. When I was 19 years old, I was kidnapped and assaulted at gunpoint. A few years later, I became pregnant with my beautiful daughter Kadeshja. “Her father and I were not married, so I became a single parent. “When I was 24, I was raped. Thereafter, I moved to the United States to live with my brothers. I thought my daughter would have a better life and more opportunity,” the Trinidadian added.

She said:

“I don’t know if this is going to satisfy Mr Forbes’ family,” Judge Carter said, immediately after sentencing Kelly. “Nothing I can do today will bring Mr Forbes back. But I can assure them that for the next 21 years, you will be paying for your actions,” the judge said in Long Island County Courthouse.

Judge Carter imposed 21 years on Kelly Forbes. She had been sentenced to 21 years in prison on 18 August 2008.

Outcome

Kelly Forbes was sentenced to 21 years in prison. She had been convicted by a jury of manslaughter after the jury rejected her self-defence claim. She faced up to 25 years in prison when she was sentenced on 18 August 2008.

Other details

Police said they responded to the couple’s Frankel Blvd. home after a 911 call at 8:53 a.m. on Wednesday. Police found Michael Forbes unresponsive but alive and he was taken by ambulance to Nassau University Medical Center, where he died about an hour later.

The Nassau County medical examiner determined the cause was asphyxiation. Detective Sgt. Anthony Repalone said, “Toxicology tests are being done on the victim” to determine if there were drugs in the victim’s system.

The home Michael Forbes and Kelly Forbes lived in featured an inground swimming pool and backed up to a waterway lined with private docks. The home was bought by Michael Forbes’ father in August for $799,000. Dr. Dennis Gilman said its former owner that he was surprised at the closing that Michael Forbes wasn’t the buyer, stating: “I was very surprised at the closing that [Michael Forbes] wasn't the buyer,” Gilman said.