Report: Husband In Lehigh Double Homicide-Suicide Had History Of Domestic Violence

Gabriella Souza
News Press
September 3rd 2010

12:54 P.M. UPDATE – Lee sheriff’s deputies are continuing to investigate a double homicide-suicide in Lehigh Acres today.

Lisa Forde, 33, her husband, Winselsio, 39, and the couple’s 1-year-old child, Caleb, were found dead in their home on East Lake Drive on Thursday. Authorities released their names this morning.

Court and jail records show that the Fordes had a history of domestic violence.

Winselsio Forde was arrested in April 2009 after Lisa Forde said he threw her to the floor when she was pregnant, officials said.

State attorney’s office spokeswoman Samantha Syoen said Winselsio Forde was able to go through a diversion program, which required counseling because he was a first-time offender.

Winselsio denied the incident happened as Lisa described, Syoen said, adding that an arrest report said Lisa had a minor scratch on her left hand.

The Fordes were married in 2007, according to public records.

Lisa Forde, who was a paramedic for Lee County EMS, refused any medical attention, reports said.

He completed the diversion program and a no-contract order was lifted in April, records show.

The family did not have a history with the Department of Children and Families, said spokesman Terry Field.

A formal DCF inquiry has not started, he said.

The sheriff’s office has not said how the family died.

Lee County EMS is working with the family on funeral arrangements for Forde, said to spokeswoman Diane Holm, adding that her colleague was scheduled to work today.

Forde worked in the southern part of Lee County.

On Thursday, people flocked to the Fordes’ chartreuse, one-story home as they learned of the deaths.

A person who neighbor Stan White said was the family’s babysitter reportedly discovered the bodies around 4 p.m. Thursday.

The Fordes’ neighborhood, located on a cul-de-sac, remained cordoned off with crime scene tape today.

White, who lives four houses down from the family, said the Fordes kept to themselves and were seldom seen around the neighborhood.

“You would never expect something like this to happen where you live,” he said Thursday.

Economic desperation can lead a parent to kill their children, said Terry Field, the spokesman, speaking from his experience with DCF cases.

“They have a break in reality,” he said. “We see cases in which the primary earner feels like she or he can no longer provide and the best thing for them would be is to kill the entire family.”

Last year, there were no child death investigations that closed with findings of abuse and neglect in Lee County in 2009, according to a state review.

But, in Collier, there were at least eight including the five Damas children, whose father confessed to killing them in September 2009.

Domestic violence murders often occur when the victim tries to leave, said Laura Streyffeler, clinical director at Abuse Counseling & Treatment in Lee County.

“Usually, when a victim says she’s leaving, it’s ‘if I can’t have you nobody will’ and he takes the whole family so they can all be together,” Streyffeler said. “It’s the ultimate control.”

The counselor recommended victims seek help from an organization like ACT to create a safety plan before leaving an abuser.

An abuser might kill a child as a way to punish the victim or to main control, even in death.

“Very often, perpetrators of domestic violence consider their children as property so if they’re going to go, the kids have to go with them,” she said.

They may also not want another person to raise their children, she said, noting that domestic violence murders run across all cultural and racial lines.”

From this morning’s editions of The News-Press

Little is known about the man, woman and infant boy who died Thursday in what Lee County sheriff’s deputies believe is a double homicide-suicide at a Lehigh Acres residence.

Detectives have not released the victims’ identities as they try to contact family members. Details about how the three died remain a mystery.

But the stream of people who flocked to the East Lake Drive home with tears in their eyes Thursday afternoon confirmed they know who the victims are.

Lisa Beth Forde, 33, is owner of the home, according to the Lee County property appraiser. Her husband since 2007, Winselsio Alex Forde, also is listed in public records as a resident of the home.

Lee County sheriff’s deputies were waiting for a search warrant late Thursday night so they could continue their investigation. The medical examiner will then perform autopsies on the bodies found inside the chartreuse, one-story home.

A person who neighbor Stan White said was the family’s baby sitter reportedly discovered the bodies around 4 p.m. Deputies quickly hurried to the scene and wrapped the cul-de-sac in crime scene tape.

Lisa Forde is a paramedic with Lee County EMS. Thursday afternoon, a woman in printed scrubs sat in the front seat of her car, pressing a tissue to her eyes. Another woman in green scrubs rushed up to deputies in tears.

Deputies quickly ushered the woman in green inside the yellow tape. She returned leading a brindle boxer on a leash. White said he often sees Lisa Forde walking the same dog around the neighborhood.

Soon after, a man dressed in black who identified himself as the family’s minister, but declined to give his name, stood at a distance from the home. He said he was there to offer assistance, but quickly left after reporters approached him for comment.

White, who lives four houses down from the family, said the Fordes keep to themselves and are seldom seen around the neighborhood. He thinks the baby is about 1 year old.

The victims inside the home died violently, but White said he hadn’t heard any commotion all day.

“You would never expect something like this to happen where you live,” he said.

This is the second suspected homicide involving a child in Lehigh Acres in the past four months.

In May, 2-month-old Josue Rosales died after having his throat slit, allegedly by his grandfather, Manuel Rosales, according to Lee sheriff’s deputies. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in that case.