Authorities in Grants Pass say none of this would have happened if authorities in Nevada hadn’t been so quick just over a year ago to release Foster from prison, where he was serving time for holding his then-girlfriend in Las Vegas captive for two weeks and torturing her. And a Grants Pass woman would not now be in a hospital, comatose and in critical condition, they say.
It’s “extremely troubling,” Grants Pass Police Chief Warren Hensman said.
In the 2019 incident in Las Vegas, Foster broke seven of his girlfriend’s ribs, gave her two black eyes, choked her to the point of unconsciousness and forced her to eat lye before she managed to escape, authorities said. Foster already had a suspended jail sentence on a concealed-weapons charge and was awaiting trial in another domestic violence case.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, Foster was sentenced to one to 2 1/2 years. He was set free on Oct. 21, 2021, the same day he was transferred to a Nevada state prison because he had already served 729 days in jail for the crimes before he was sentenced, according to a Nevada corrections official.
Fifteen months later, Foster was living in Oregon and in a relationship with the Grants Pass woman. On Jan. 24, her friend grew concerned because she hadn’t been seen for several days. The friend went to the woman’s house, where she was found bound and beaten to unconsciousness.
Inside the hunt for a serial kidnapper, and a bloody finale
By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Police in rural southwest Oregon were on high alert: A man with a history of kidnapping and torturing women in two states was on the run in their territory. When a tip came in from a cab company that had given him a ride, they wentktvz.com
Quoting more from this same article:
Inside the hunt for a serial kidnapper, and a bloody finale - KTVZ
"Police searched the house, but didn’t find anyone. Then they sent a sheriff’s department robot to a crawlspace and found signs that Foster was burrowed deep underneath the home. His presence was confirmed by a camera. The fugitive had water and other supplies stashed there, apparently in hopes he could wait out the police presence undetected.
The officers expected a gunfight. Instead, Foster shot himself in the head, Hensman said. Police found Foster still breathing, unconscious and holding a .45-caliber pistol. Officers had to cut into the floorboards to extract him."
Very chilling.
