McMINNVILLE, Ore. (KOIN) — A teenager is being investigated in connection with the death of a woman who family friends say acted like a stepmother to him.
The 15-year-old boy lived in the NE Oregon Street home with his dad John, his dad’s longtime girlfriend Kimberly Lynn Forness, and roommate Ron Spiker.
Friends say Forness, John and his son lived together for quite some time.
Forness was found dead inside the home and Spiker was found injured in the 300 block of Oregon Street.
According to a GoFundMe account created by his family, Spiker was shot in the face and hip. He is being treated at OHSU.
Friends say Forness was a patient and kind person and this is a shocking turn of events. She worked at Hopscotch Toys in downtown McMinnville for 11 years and the owner there said she brought joy to those she knew.
“She was great with children, she was great with parents and grandparents people loved her,” Linda Hayes said. “[She] put everybody at ease. She was wonderful, never a cross word about anybody for any reason.”
KOIN 6 News learned Forness leaves behind 3 daughters from Oregon and other family members in Georgia.
Some friends of the teen who is in custody said he is a good kid and there were no red flags that they could see.
Police did not say whether the boy’s father, John, was home at the time of the shooting.
The teen is currently getting medical treatment and authorities may charge him when he is released from the medical facility.
The investigation is ongoing and police carried several bags of evidence outside the home Thursday morning.
Neighbor Yolanda Sanchez-Molina told KOIN 6 News her street was busy on Wednesday afternoon.
“You’d see the fire truck come by, the ambulance, the SWAT team,” she said. “This is just a horrible tragedy that happened. This breaks my heart. That woman was very nice.”
Her children — just like the rest of the neighborhood — are having a hard time coming to terms with the violence so close to home.
“They keep asking me why or how this could happen, or ‘This doesn’t happen near where we live,'” Sanchez-Molina said. “I have not idea what to tell them.”