The Minister’s Daughter and the Forged Bond
A Newport minister’s teenage daughter is jailed for forgery, released on bond, briefly missing from court, and sentenced to Walla Walla—while her father fights to recover his $1,000.
Spokane—The Rev. W. C. Moter, a minister at Newport, Wash., Saturday recovered the $1,000 bond that he posted for the appearance of his daughter, Winifred Moter, who is now serving an indeterminate sentence at Walla Walla for forgery. After being in jail for some time following her arrest, the girl was released upon bond. Upon the day her case came up in the superior court, she appeared in court in the morning and the case was continued until 5 o’clock in the afternoon. When the hour arrived she was not there, and after waiting some time the bond was declared forfeited. It was shown that the girl, who is only 18 and twice married, had made no attempt to escape, but had appeared at the courthouse soon after the bond was forfeited.
“It was shown that the girl, who is only 18, and twice married, had made no attempt to escape, but had appeared at the courthouse soon after the bond was forfeited.”
The story turns on a father’s financial exposure to his child’s court date—a dynamic familiar to families navigating bail and pretrial release today. It also shows how quickly a young woman’s private life became public copy in 1909, with the paper noting her age and two marriages in the same breath as the forgery charge.
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