Former Island County corrections officer Mark Moffit cries as he apologizes to the family of Keaton Farris during sentencing at the Whatcom County Courthouse in Bellingham on Tuesday. Farris died of dehydration and malnutrition in the Island County Jail in 2015. Moffit and fellow former corrections officer David Lind were sentenced for forging their safety logs to make it seem like they’d been checking on Farris more often than they did. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Former Island County corrections officer Mark Moffit cries as he apologizes to the family of Keaton Farris during sentencing at the Whatcom County Courthouse in Bellingham on Tuesday. Farris died of dehydration and malnutrition in the Island County Jail in 2015. Moffit and fellow former corrections officer David Lind were sentenced for forging their safety logs to make it seem like they’d been checking on Farris more often than they did. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Former jail guards sentenced in dehydration death of inmate

During a mental health crisis in 2015, Keaton Farris, 25, wasted away in the Island County Jail.

BELLINGHAM — Keaton Farris was never convicted of forging the $355 check that landed him in the Island County Jail. But he did receive a death sentence.

Farris had been behind bars for 18 days when he succumbed to dehydration — naked, alone, on the floor of cell H-2 in April 2015. He was in the midst of a mental health crisis. He was 25.

After he flooded his cell twice in a week, the water was shut off to his sink and toilet. According to an Island County sheriff’s detective, Farris was given Dixie cups holding an average of 15 ounces of fluids a day, a quarter of what’s needed to survive.

On Tuesday, two former Island County jail guards were sentenced for forging safety logs to make it seem like they’d been checking on Farris more often than they did.

David Wayne Lind, 55, and Mark Edward Moffit, 61, pleaded guilty to false reporting by a public officer, a gross misdemeanor. They were sentenced to a year in jail with all but three months suspended, a Whatcom County Superior Court judge ruled. Five days must be served behind bars. The remainder can be community service, outside of a jail.

To Fred Farris, the length of the sentence mattered little. Nothing would help Keaton’s father to leave the courthouse a happier person, because nothing can bring back his son.

Keaton grew up on Lopez and Whidbey islands. He was a three-sport athlete at Coupeville High School. In his 20s, he aspired to be a writer. Hundreds of friends attended his funeral. Only a handful knew of his mental illness, his father said. It didn’t define Keaton.

“He was a brilliant young man, full of life, compassionate almost to a fault,” Fred Farris said.

Keaton Farris

Keaton Farris

Keaton’s first manic episode occurred in late 2013. Once he was medicated, it was like he was back to being the young man his family always knew, his father said. About a year later he was charged in San Juan County with forging a check. Keaton missed a court date; a judge issued a felony warrant; and he was arrested in Lynnwood in March 2015. He told police he was off his medication. He was shuffled through the jails in Snohomish and Skagit counties.

Meanwhile, he showed signs of psychosis, according to a report by a mental health provider. After he arrived in Coupeville, he plugged his toilet with a pillow. He rambled to himself, ate a bar of soap and dumped water on his head in his 12 days at the Island County lockup. He flooded his cell again and acted like he was swimming in a half-inch of cold water on the floor. His water was cut off. He’d arrived without medication. Two days later, a nurse finally examined him. She stood outside his door, fearing he might attack her. She asked how he was doing.

“Not good,” Farris answered.

An autopsy later revealed Keaton Farris dropped 20 pounds as he wasted away from dehydration and malnutrition. He was found unresponsive in his cell around 12:40 a.m. April 8, 2015. It had been hours since anyone had looked at him. Jail guards were supposed to be checking him hourly. Security footage showed Lind and Moffit fabricated logs about how often they peered into Keaton Farris’ cell that night.

It’s disturbing to Keaton’s father that no one was charged with anything more than a misdemeanor. He doesn’t believe the jail staff wanted his son to die, but they were in complete control of what happened to him, he said.

“If we were outside of the jail, and we cut off somebody’s access to water, and we were in control of their environment, and we didn’t feed them enough — there’s no question that’s going to be a serious crime,” Fred Farris said.

The court case was moved to Whatcom County because of potential conflicts of interest in Island County. The longtime Whatcom County prosecutor, Dave McEachran, took the case.

The prosecutor couldn’t pin fault on a single person, he said, because so many of the mistakes that led to Farris’ death were systemic.

Keaton Farris

Keaton Farris

“It was many people,” McEachran said in court Tuesday. “It was the whole system that just wasn’t working. … It was a total failure by the entire staff, by people who should have known better.”

The death led to reforms at the 58-bed jail in Coupeville. Mental health professionals must assess inmates daily and document interactions. A new jail chief, Jose Briones, was hired in part because of his expertise with mentally ill inmates.

The jail lieutenant, Pamela McCarty, was fired. Later she was rehired but demoted to corrections officer, after a ruling by an arbitrator. She was awarded 13 months of back pay.

Lind and Moffit resigned.

“There was a callousness from the top down, with respect to following these procedures,” Lind’s defense attorney, Doug Hyldahl, told the judge.

In court, Lind said he was ashamed of what he’d done, but that his actions were part of the culture at the jail at the time.

“I am so, so sorry for everything that happened here,” Lind said. “It’s unbelievable. When I found Mr. Farris deceased, I was stunned, I was shocked, I was in disbelief.”

Tiffany Ferrians (right) hugs Tamara Fralic after two former Island County corrections officers were sentenced on Tuesday at the Whatcom County Courthouse in Bellingham over the death of Keaton Farris. Ferrians is the mother of Harris. Fralic is Farris’ aunt. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Tiffany Ferrians (right) hugs Tamara Fralic after two former Island County corrections officers were sentenced on Tuesday at the Whatcom County Courthouse in Bellingham over the death of Keaton Farris. Ferrians is the mother of Harris. Fralic is Farris’ aunt. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Moffit, an honorably discharged U.S. Navy sailor, worked at the jail for 20 years. He broke down as he addressed the judge.

“I agree with Mr. Lind. I was caught in the same trap that he was, in that jail,” he said. He turned to Keaton’s family, in tears. “Most of all I want to apologize the family. To the mother, the father. I can’t even imagine. I accept whatever punishment they give me.”

Fred Farris has had a voice in the reforms at the jail. Yet he fears there will never be real justice for Keaton.

“At this point, if I had any control over this never happening to anybody again,” he said, “I’d do whatever it took to get there.”

Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.