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'I couldn't let her go': Man accused of murdering girlfriend in Hillyard apartment

When a detective asked Joshua Forrester to explain what happened, he initially said, “There is no excuse. I can’t explain it,” according to court records.

Warning: This story contains graphic and disturbing information

SPOKANE, Wash. – Court records are providing more details in the events that led up to a man allegedly shooting his live-in girlfriend of three years in their Hillyard apartment. 

A judge set bond for Joshua M. Forrester at $1 million on Friday afternoon. He was booked into the Spokane County Jail for a first-degree murder charge after Major Crimes detectives found him covered in blood following a shooting on Thursday. 

Records indicate that Forrester does not have a previous criminal history.  

One witness who lives in the Hillyard apartment complex said Forrester is his landlord, and lives with the victim and their one-and-a-half-year-old son, court records say.

According to court records, the witness said he woke up on Dec. 26 to what he thought were “smacking or banging sounds, followed by yelling.”

At about 5:30 a.m., he called 911 to say he had just heard gunshots, adding that he looked out and saw Forrester “covered in blood” with a gun in his hand, court records say. 

Forrester then told the witness that he “did something bad,” according to court records.

The witness then slammed his door before Forrester banged on it, trying to get in, according to court records. The witness said he was scared and locked himself in the bathroom while on the phone with 911.

Forrester fled the scene before officers arrived, court records say.

RELATED: Bond set at $1 million for Hillyard shooting suspect who was 'covered in blood'

Another witness who works at Northeast Youth Center said she saw a man standing near her parked car when she arrived at about 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, court records say. She said she noticed that he was covered in blood and not wearing any shoes.

The woman told investigators that the man said something similar to, “You remind me of my sister,” court records say. When she asked him if he needed help, he reportedly said, “Just tell them I denied Jesus.”

After the man walked eastbound out of her sight, the woman called 911 to report what she had seen.

Police later found Forrester in the 3000 block of E. Queen Avenue, where he was taken into custody without incident, court records say.

One officer asked Forrester, “Are you hurt?,” to which he replied, “I hurt Jesus,” court records say. The officer then asked Forrester where the person was that caused all of this blood and Forrester gave him the address of the apartment building on E. Diamond Avenue.

According to court records, officers saw a black semi-automatic handgun on the floor next to the victim’s body in the apartment and noticed blood smears on the wall near the back door of the residence.

Other officers saw several live rounds and shell casings on the ground near the victim’s body. They said it did not appear that the victim had been involved in a struggle before she was shot.

Some of Forrester’s personal items and a cheek swab were collected as evidence, court records say.

According to court records, investigators saw blood on Forrester’s face, hands, socks, jeans, coat and white hooded sweatshirt.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner said the victim had several bullet wounds to her body, according to court records.

Forrester later told investigators that he was not under the influence of any alcohol or drugs. He identified the victim as his live-in girlfriend of three years and said the child in their apartment during the shooting was theirs, court records say. 

When a detective asked Forrester to explain what happened, he initially said, “There is no excuse. I can’t explain it,” according to court records.

Forrester told the detective that he and the victim had been having difficulties in their relationship. She had recently told him that Wednesday was “the worst Christmas ever,” according to court records.

Forrester said he had recently quit his job at UPS but could not tell the detective why. He added that the victim told him she wanted to break up with him the day before the shooting.

The two had argued a lot but Forrester denied that anything physical happened during that time, court records say. 

Forrester told the detective that he went to a safe in the living room at about midnight on Thursday and removed a gun that belonged to him, court records say. He then loaded the gun, walked into the kitchen with it and eventually set it in a drawer.

A detective asked what Forrester planned on doing with the gun but he did not answer. He said he thought the victim saw him do this but she never said anything.

Forrester said he laid down on the couch and fell asleep but got up at about 2 a.m. and grabbed the gun, court records say. The detective then asked Forrester why he didn’t do anything at that time, to which he said he was not able to “do it” that time. He then put the gun away and laid back down on the couch.

At about 5:30 a.m., Forrester got up and retrieved the gun from the kitchen drawer, court records say. He said he walked over to the victim, stood over her, raised the gun and shot her multiple times.

Forrester told the detective that the victim woke up at some point during the shooting. When the detective asked Forrester why he shot his girlfriend, he claimed he “woke up and something took over," court records say. 

He later admitted that he shot her “because I couldn’t let her go,” court records say.

The detective said it was apparent that Forrester had planned on shooting the victim at least several hours before he actually did it, according to court records. 

Forrester told the detective he tried to do CPR on Johnson after he shot her but it was not working. When the detective asked if he ever considered calling 911, Forrester said he looked for his cellphone and couldn’t find it, court records say. 

Forrester claimed he tried to call 911 using the victim’s phone but “it wouldn’t go through," according to court records. 

According to court records, Forrester said he ran out of the front of the house with the gun after the shooting. He claimed that he was going to run to the police department but only went about a half block before returning to the scene.

He told the detective he went back into the apartment, put the gun down and fled out the back door, court records say.

Forrester told the detective that the gun belonged to him and is in his name, according to court records. He added that there was no one in the apartment, other than his child, during the shooting and that he had not talked to anyone since the incident.

A judge said on Friday that Forrester is not allowed contact with the victim's family or the child present during the shooting. 

RELATED: Suspect who killed 21-year-old Spokane father gets 190 months in prison

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