VANCOUVER, Wash. — A Clark County jury on Wednesday unanimously found suspected serial killer Warren Forrest guilty in the 1974 murder of Martha Morrison, a 17-year-old from Portland.
The first-degree murder trial began last week, nearly 50 years after Morrison's remains were discovered.
Forrest has been in prison since 1978, serving a life sentence for his conviction in the 1974 murder of another young woman, 20-year-old Krista Kay Blake.
In total, investigators suspect Forrest is responsible for abducting and killing seven women and girls on both sides of the Columbia River.
Morrison’s remains were recovered months after she disappeared, but her death wasn’t linked to Forrest until 2015, when investigators revealed an unexpected discovery: Morrison’s DNA was found on a dart gun that Forrest admitted to using to attack another woman.
"Relieved and amazed," said Michael Morrison, Martha's brother, "I'm amazed at how many people it took to get here... There's just an amazing amount of people that brought this to fruition, that made it work. I'm happy about that, and I'm pleased."
The trial began on Jan. 24 in Clark County Superior Court and was expected to last up to three weeks.
Norma Lewis, another alleged victim of Forrest who survived, was called to testify on the stand by prosecutor Lauren Boyd.
Lewis, who was known as Norma Jean Countryman in 1974, was 15 years old when she met Forrest. She said that one day that summer in Ridgefield, Forrest offered her a ride home. Lewis testified that Forrest then drove her into the woods of Tukes Mountain, where he tried to kill her.
Lewis was able to escape. She was able to then lead police back to the place from which she escaped. Less than 200 hundred feet away, investigators would find Krista Blake's body buried in a shallow grave.
Forrest’s defense attorney argued the state didn't have enough evidence to show that Forrest is the person who killed Morrison.
Detectives believe Forrest’s first victim was Jamie Rochelle Grissim. She disappeared after heading to school in 1971 and has never been found. Grissim's school ID later turned up along remote Doe Valley Road in Clark County.
Her sister, Starr Lara, was in the courtroom when the judge announced the jury's verdict.
"[I am] very, very happy. We never have to hear from him again. I'm so glad the system worked, and that Martha got justice, and that's close as all the rest of us can get," she said, "But that's because he will never come out of there alive."
Hunters found the bodies of Carol Valenzuela and Morrison nearby in 1974.