Jordan Bowers, the biological mother of missing Oakville 5-year-old Oakley Carlson, has received the maximum sentence of 20 months in prison for crimes she accepted a plea deal for earlier this month.
While both the prosecutor and Bowers’ defense attorney recommended the lowest sentence possible in Bowers’ case, Grays Harbor County Superior Court Judge Katherine Svoboda said Friday that sentence wasn’t adequate given Bowers’ criminal history.
“I simply cannot sentence her to the bottom of the range,” she said during Bowers’ sentencing hearing Friday morning.
In addition to the prison sentence, Bowers will not be allowed unsupervised contact with minors other than her biological children. Contact with her biological children will be determined by a family court.
Bowers entered Alford pleas, which allow her to take advantage of a plea deal without admitting guilt, on April 8 to two counts of child endangerment with a controlled substance.
She had been accused, alongside Carlson’s father, Andrew Carlson, of exposing their 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son to methamphetamine. Bowers had also been charged with felony second-degree abandonment of a dependent child, which was dropped as part of the plea deal.
That abandonment charge would have been difficult for the state to prove in court, said Deputy Prosecutor Jason Walker.
“It was certainly in the state’s interest to avoid a trial in this case,” said Walker, adding that a trial would have been “devastating” to the two children and their foster families, and likely would have resulted in a conviction with the same 15-20 month sentencing range set in the plea deal.
“This would have been a difficult case and I’m glad we were able to come to an agreement and negotiate a plea agreement here,” Walker said at the start of Bowers’ sentencing hearing on Friday.
“This was carefully negotiated,” said Defense Attorney Michael Nagle of the plea deal. He stated that Bowers has repeatedly asserted her innocence, but trial was an “unacceptable risk” because there was a chance the prosecutors could have secured a sentencing above the standard 15-20 month range.
While Bowers and Carlson both pleaded guilty to the same charges, Bowers’ 15- to 20-month standard sentencing range is higher than the six- to 12-month range set in Carlson’s case because Bowers has a higher criminal offender score, which is calculated from past offenses on a defendant’s record and is used by judges to set sentencing for new offenses.
Carlson was sentenced March 28 to 12 months in prison — the maximum allowed by state law for his case.
“She’s being treated more harshly by the court because of her criminal history,” Walker said.
Bowers was previously convicted on a drug-related offense and was granted a drug offender sentencing alternative (DOSA) to prison.
That DOSA was one of Svoboda’s reasons for sentencing Bowers at the high end of the range.
Because she went through that DOSA treatment program, Bowers had the tools necessary to combat her drug addiction but “simply chose not to employ them,” Svobada said.
“By the evidence before this court, and the evidence (Bowers) agreed the court can consider, it is clear she’s responsible,” said Svoboda. “I said something along the same lines to (Andrew Carlson). It is a parent’s job to protect your children, and Ms. Bowers failed to do that.”
Both the 6-year-old and the 2-year-old were considered “exceptionally vulnerable” due to their age and the 6-year-old’s medical condition, said Svoboda.
Analysis of hair follicle samples taken from the couple’s 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son on Dec. 10 revealed both children had been exposed to methamphetamine within three months of the test.
The 6-year-old’s hair follicle showed 5,186 pictograms of methamphetamine and the 2-year-old’s hair follicle showed at least 10,000 pictograms — which is the maximum the lab results can show — according to court records obtained by The Daily World.
“These numbers are extremely high and consistent with a child who has ingested methamphetamine, although they are not inconsistent with a child who has been passively exposed to the drug,” stated Dr. Joyce Gilbert of the Providence Sexual Assault and Maltreatment Clinic in files obtained by The Daily World.
The amount of methamphetamine found within the 2-year-old’s hair follicle was “more consistent with ingestion,” according to the files.
Both children were taken into Child Protective Services’ custody when Bowers and Carlson were initially arrested on suspicion of manslaughter on Dec. 6.
“Right now, they’re physically doing well, I’m pleased to announce,” said Walker.
However, he said “only time will tell” if there are long-term effects to their exposure to methamphetamine.
According to Walker, exposure to methamphetamine at a young age activates the addiction receptors in the brain, meaning the two children “are drug addicts now … They’re little kids, they don’t know what drugs are, but they’re addicts now,” he said.
Bowers declined to give a statement at her sentencing hearing.
Meanwhile, outside the courthouse, community members and Oakley’s former foster family held painted signs and screamed at Bowers, demanding answers about the whereabouts of the missing 5-year-old.
Charges have yet to be filed related to her disappearance, and all parties in the courtroom took time out of Bowers’ sentencing hearing Friday to clarify that they were only there to deal with the case related to Bowers’ two other children.
“It would be ridiculous to ignore that we have other things at play here, but the court has no role in investigating or making a predetermined judgment,” said Svoboda. “I am only addressing the two children at issue here.”
Anyone with information related to Oakley’s disappearance is asked to call the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office’s non-emergency dispatch number at 360-533-8765, call Detective Sgt. Paul Logan at 360-964-1729 or email sodetectives@co.grays-harbor.wa.us.
Timeline of Oakley’s Disappearance and Her Biological Parents’ Court Case
• November 2019: Oakley leaves the care of her foster parents and returns to her biological parents Andrew Carlson and Jordan Bowers.
• Feb. 10, 2021: The last time detectives with the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office can confirm Oakley was seen alive.
• Nov. 6, 2021: A fire was reported at the Carlsons’ residence in Oakville just before 5 p.m. Andrew Carlson told dispatchers his 4-year-old (Oakley’s age at the time) had lit the couch on fire with a cigarette lighter and said he had put the fire out himself. Investigators later determined the fire most likely started in the microwave on the kitchen counter — not from the couch, as Carlson had claimed.
• Nov. 30, 2021: The date Oakley’s parents claim they last saw Oakley.
• Dec. 5, 2021: Oakville Elementary School Principal Jessica Swift contacts the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office with concerns about Oakley’s safety.
• Dec. 6, 2021:
Approximately 10 a.m.: An officer with the Tumwater Police Department initiates a welfare check for Oakley and interviews Oakley’s parents in their hotel room.
3:31 p.m.: An officer confirmed Jordan Bowers and Carlson left the hotel with their 2-year-old and returned to their Oakville residence.
5:10 p.m.: Bowers is booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail for allegedly obstructing an officer and on suspicion of manslaughter.
9:30 p.m.: Carlson is booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail on suspicion of manslaughter.
• Dec. 7, 2021: Oakley’s sister’s temporary foster parents ask law enforcement about a medication prescribed to the 6-year-old, and law enforcement learn Bowers and Carlson had not been giving the child the medication.
• Dec. 9, 2021: The 72-hour hold on suspicion of manslaughter expires, and that case is closed. Bowers and Carlson are charged with second-degree abandonment of a dependent person for allegedly neglecting to give their 6-year-old daughter prescribed medication for approximately 15 months.
• Dec. 10, 2021: The Department of Children, Youth and Families takes hair follicle samples from Oakley’s 6-year-old sister and 2-year-old brother to submit for analysis. The tests eventually reveal substantial amounts of methamphetamine in both hair follicle samples, indicating the children were exposed to the drug within the last three months.
• Dec. 13, 2021: Detectives complete their search of the Carlson family’s house and surrounding property.
• Dec. 30, 2021: Bowers and Carlson appear in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for the first time. Demonstrators gather outside the courthouse demanding answers about Oakley.
• Jan. 10, 2022: Bowers and Carlson both plead not guilty to second-degree abandonment of a dependent child. Trial dates are set for April 2022.
• Jan. 20, 2022: Deputy Prosecutor Jason Walker submits a motion in Grays Harbor County Superior Court to file amended information adding two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance to Bowers’ and Carlson’s cases, citing results from the hair follicle tests that show methamphetamine in both hair samples.
• Jan. 28, 2022: The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office submits new evidence to the Grays Harbor County Prosecutor’s Office. Based on this evidence, Walker alleges Bowers and Carlson exposed the 6-year-old and 2-year-old to methamphetamine as early as July 1, 2021.
• Jan. 29, 2022: Demonstrators hold a rally outside the Grays Harbor County Jail demanding answers about Oakley.
• Jan. 31, 2022: Bowers and Carlson appear in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for omnibus hearings. The judge schedules a hearing for Feb. 7 to add two new charges to both Bowers’ and Carlson’s cases based on the new evidence from the sheriff’s office.
• Feb. 7, 2022: Bowers and Carlson each plead not guilty to two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance.
• Feb. 22, 2022: Bowers and Carlson appear in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for omnibus hearings. A 3.5 suppression hearing to determine whether statements of guilt made by Bowers can be used as evidence in trial is scheduled.
March 14, 2022: Bowers and Carlson appear in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for trial readiness hearings. Carlson pleads guilty to two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance.
• March 25, 2022: Bowers appears in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for a 3.5 suppression hearing. A judge rules that statements made by Bowers to a corrections officer can be used in trial.
• March 28, 2022: Judge Katherine Svoboda sentences Carlson to 12 months in prison for the two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance. He is also required to obtain a chemical dependency evaluation within 45 days of his release and to undergo any recommended treatment.
• April 8, 2022: Bowers enters Alford pleas to two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance.
• April 22, 2022: Svoboda sentences Bowers to 20 months in prison for the two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance. Bowers will also not be allowed unsupervised contact with minors other than her biological children upon her release.
