Suspected Clark County serial killer Warren Leslie Forrest was again denied parole and was ordered to serve another 7 1/2 years in prison, according to a written decision by the Washington Indeterminate Sentence Review Board.
Forrest, 68, of Battle Ground is serving a life sentence at the Washington Department of Corrections’ Monroe Correctional Complex for the 1974 murder of 19-year-old Krista Blake of Vancouver.
In its decision posted on the board’s website, the parole board wrote that Forrest is “too high of a risk to release and not fully rehabilitated or a fit subject to release.” The board recommended that Forrest remain infraction free and participate in any programs available to him.
“Mr. Forrest made minimal progress identifying and exploring distortions, feeling and behaviors, which contributed to his decision to engage in homicidal behaviors,” the decision reads.
The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office also recommended that Forrest remain incarcerated, “due to documented history of extreme sexual violence against women,” the decision reads.
Forrest was convicted in 1979 in Blake’s death and has admitted to her murder and to abducting two other young females, the board wrote.
Investigators believe he is behind the disappearance and deaths of at least five other young women between 1972 and 1974.
Forrest is an Army veteran and former Clark County parks employee. The graves of multiple victims, all women, were found in or near Clark County parks.
Parole hearing
Forrest was last up for parole in February 2014 but was denied release, and the board tacked on another 60 months to his sentence. At the time, the board wrote that “Mr. Forrest disclosed having ‘numerous unadjudicated victims who might be living or dead’?” and that the offenses spanned four states, according to Columbian archives.
In a report from his Sexual Offenders Treatment Assessment Program, Forrest admitted to “offending against ’17 different female victims during 16 different incidents.’ The behaviors ranged from voyeurism to the murder of (Blake),” the decision reads.
But at his most recent parole hearing on July 18, Forrest denied being involved in any unsolved murders, the decision states.
And when asked about other potential victims, Forrest’s attorney, George Marlton, advised him to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to protect against self incrimination.
Instead, Forrest explained to panel members what was happening with him when he committed Blake’s murder, according to the decision. He “described being under a lot of stress and needing a ‘distraction,’ which were his violent fantasies.
“He admitted to the murder, although without much attachment to his feelings,” the decision reads. “He was asked how he felt after the murder, and he indicated he could not get in touch with any feelings at the time. When asked to think about his feelings now, he mentioned that he could speculate that there was sorrow, sadness, frustration regret and fear.”
Forrest told the panel members that he did not intend to murder Blake but that when she began to struggle, he killed her and tried to cover up the crime.
The written decision does not state when Forrest will again be eligible for parole.
