One of the men, Dennis Hall, retaliated the next day, shooting Forbes four times. Soon afterward, Hall died in an apparent arson fire, and Forbes was sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to court documents.
Now, after serving almost four decades in prison, Forbes has walked free after a key witness recanted her testimony.
Annice Kennebrew, a star winess in the case, said she had seen Forbes and two other men carrying red gasoline canisters near the building during the time of the fire and saw them pour gasoline around it, according to court documents.
Kennebrew’s account differed from what fire investigators found. While she described gasoline being poured on the exterior of the building, investigators found charring and evidence of accelerants only on the inside.
Forty years down the line, Kennebrew has come forward with contrary claims that she was pressurized into giving false testimony.
“They threatened to kill my children, parents, siblings, and me if I did not report to the police and testify at trial that I saw Walter and the other two men set the fire,” Kennebrew said in a sworn affidavit.
“Everything I told police, and everything I testified to at trial relating to my witnessing the setting of the fire, was a fabrication,” the affidavit continued. “As far as I know, Walter had nothing to do with this crime.”
Kennebrew was hesitant to speak about her testimony when reached by journalists. When asked whether she was pressured before her initial testimony, she said, “It was hard. I was a kid.”
She said she recanted “because it was the right thing to do.”
Walter Forbes, seen shortly after leaving prison, says being released has been like seeing a “vision unfold.”