Stop. Wait for your turn to go.
Morgan has died, we do not at this time know how or why. We avoid those thoughts and focus on those around us. The wellsprings of Morgan’s life, her love, and her happiness.
Contact with the detectives of her case is limited to organizational, necessary endeavors. As a part of her death investigation, actually as the only function of her death investigation, the Sheriffs, not the Coroners, the Sheriffs have “gathered evidence”, all electronic items, her computer, cell phone and ipod. It is sad that after twenty years of exuberant life Morgan is only investigated for her last weeks of communications.
The detectives have dutifully interviewed two acquaintances of Morgan on the day of her death. Two whom Steve had warned would be the worst to interview, One because of medical issues that best not be revealed and one that was not even in the country to have an accurate or reality based response to give, That did not stop the detective, he questioned those two and only those two for the basis of the Coroners postmortem examination report.
That alone would set off a disagreement of fact VS fiction that will go far beyond this day. But more importantly a small portion of the misinformation of Morgan that haunts her true legacy even today, over a year later.
Our actual contact with the detective is quite cordial and focused on procedural events following a death. We have viewing planned for those loved ones not in state at the time Morgan was taken from us, immediately following she will have a memorial. Numerous items on the few electronic devices confiscated as a part of her investigation are now needed for her memorial. Detective Megan steps forward to insure that those things will be returned as soon as possible. And she delivers, our son by marriage works for two days without interruption to deliver the memorial in pictures and music. It is a moving remembrance of our beautiful daughter, and it is fitting for her departure under the most questionable of circumstances.
Evidence that she was murdered only a small group knows about, the details grow as the all important plans for a goodbye fitting of what she has done in her life is completely drafted. I share this evolving new information with detectives as I move forward with our closure to Morgan’s – our youngest blessed addition to our lives. They promise to follow up, but I do not focus on that, I have a departed daughter to properly say goodbye to – as if that is remotely possible!
We have tight schedules and ample help to make sure that all is done. Criminal aspects are dispensed for the moment, but later they will become all too obvious and forever looming.
Arrivals of family are more firmly set, and times for remembrances are altered.
Morgan’s friends have been leaving emotional posts on her Facebook since Friday when they heard she was gone – everyone is in shock and in pain. Here is one post that I had to share from one of the “skaters” that was part of a group she would photograph whenever she had spare time – he attached one of the pictures she had taken on one of those magical days. They called her the Skate Fairy and after her death they built a sculpture as a tribute to her.
Following up further on the death of the Jensen boys – mens rea is a term that has been brought up often since the murder of Morgan. It is a simple Latin term and reflects the intent of an act. So many meetings about Morgan have come to focus on the true intent of the perpetrators at the time. One thing is for certain, the question or intent is for a jury to decide, under direction of the judge. When I read about how Dr. Kurtzman (Morgan’s pathologist) is deciding this issue on his own, my skin crawls. It is not his place, not his purview. Tell us exactly what happened medically, and let the investigators and the court system make the next decision – that’s what they are for…not the forensic pathologist. This was a fear we had that Dr. Kurtzman would, in the future do the same thing he did in Morgan’s case, decide a manner of death (even under suspicious circumstances) as natural, or accidental, which would keep law enforcement from having to investigate and in the case of the Jenson boys even the DA says in 20 years he has never come upon a case where he is finding a crime, but the pathologist (Kurtzman) is calling accidental – so what is the DA to do? Go against the pathologist? Finding what killed the boys is the pathologist’s job – investigating what the intent might or might not have been is the job of law enforcement. Not as in Morgan’s case where all decisions were made in advance by Kurtzman, regardless of the ability to correctly make such decisions, as new information and evidence was being presented. Intent should never be the decision of the Coroner/Forensic Pathologist, facts about how the death occurred is their only job, which would allow law enforcement to properly investigate what the intent was. Kurtzman could have put the manner of death (not the cause, but the manner) as Undetermined so an investigation could have been launched, but that did not happen.
In this case there are options left. Kurtzman is being named in reports as the Coroner, which he is definitely not. If he is acting as a deputy coroner, hopefully he is legally, as it was not in Morgan’s case. That would leave the real Coroner of Mesa County to override Kurtzman’s findings, he clearly overstepped his bounds. We will see what actually happens. I pray that they will not be launched into the bizarre orbit that we were. And allowed a proper investigation, and closure.
Morgan’s specialists this past year have indicated and identified so many errors in her investigation. So many conclusions drawn that simply can not be. If it takes a court case to establish the truth, Steve and I will not shy away for an instant. We will also question why we had to expend so much for the simple truth. A diagram of Morgan’s death is emerging. All based on facts that are so far well established in the medical community. Experts from around the country will be required to fully establish this simple truth. And to that I am so grateful, we have the required brainpower for Morgan’s truth to fully emerge. But I also ask why this could not have taken place as part of the investigation? As the ethics require. No parents should have to investigate, and grieve for their child at the same time…it is inhuman, it is painful. Where has the humanity in this world gone?
I guess that answer is yet to come.