Mother accused of killing adopted son

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. — An adoptive mother pleaded innocent Monday to charges of homicide by abuse and first-degree manslaughter in the 2002 death of her 8-year-old son.

Kimberly A. Forder, 44, charged in Kitsap County Superior Court, was jailed in lieu of $1 million bail.

“A young boy died at the hands whom society had entrusted with his care,” Kitsap County Sheriff Steve Boyer told reporters. “It went beyond abuse. It was torture.”

Forder’s adopted son, Christopher M. Forder, died of pneumonia after repeated abuse, Boyer said.

The family reportedly had five adopted children in addition to three biological children at the time of Christopher’s death.

The sheriff’s office had been working on the case for nearly four years and had a breakthrough recently, Boyer said. In July, the sheriff’s office learned that the parents and seven adopted children had recently been living in the African nation of Liberia, the Kitsap Sun reported.

On Aug. 9, the sheriff’s office received a referral report from child protective services in Oregon, in which the couple’s eldest biological daughter came forward with information about Christopher’s death.

According to court documents, prosecutors now allege the boy spent days outside or in the basement as punishment, without food, water or blankets. He was forced to clean his soiled clothing in a bucket. He also was reportedly beaten with a stick or belt.

Last week the sheriff’s office learned that Kimberly Forder was returning to the U.S. from Africa for medical treatment. They contacted her in Medford, Ore., and she agreed to return to Kitsap County.

When she arrived Saturday, she was booked into jail.