By Laura Lane
With her dark hair swept back neatly in a bun, she made no attempt to hide her face from the crowd of reporters who surrounded her as she ascended the courthouse steps.
Forbes, 29, appeared at a hearing to determine whether she would be charged once again in the strangulation death of her husband, Michael, 50. Earlier in the week, she had been freed from jail on her own recognizance after a grand jury did not indict her on the second-degree murder charge that police had charged her with. Allegedly, Forbes strangled her husband of three months with an orange electrical cord.
On Friday, a grand jury sent Kelly Forbes back to jail, but reduced the charge against her to manslaughter. She is being held on $200,000 bond, or $100,000 cash. If convicted, she faces a possible 25-year prison sentence.
The Forbeses moved to 2965 Frankel Blvd. in September. Michael had a criminal record, having spent time in prison for rape, robbery and burglary, police said. He had also been charged with attempted murder, reckless endangerment and criminal use of a firearm. According to a published report, however, family members said that at the time of his death, he was a businessman who was trying to build a life with his new wife and her 7-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.
During a news conference, Kelly Forbes's attorney, Anthony Capetola, said she had bruises on her neck, wrists and upper arms when she was arrested. Police told the Herald that they had no domestic-violence calls to the home on record.
Capetola suggested that Kelly might have acted in self-defense. "I don't think she needs to get off on anything," he said, adding that the court could consider abuse when deciding the outcome of a case, as well as during sentencing.
Capetola added that the court could also consider the defendant's state of mind, including "emotional disturbance, battered wife syndrome and self-defense."
Kelly Forbes was due in Criminal Court again on Wednesday for a pre-trial conference.
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
