Do your police know how to stop your stalker?

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HawaiisignIf you don’t know what you are up against how can you protect yourself?

Research into stalking behavior has led to classifications of the different types of stalkers.  Typology of Morgan’s stalker – Serial predatory stalker

Do your police know how to stop your stalker?

Our sheriff’s department had no clue about how to stop a stalker and it cost Morgan her life. Don’t let this happen to you! The single biggest piece of information we need to share with all other victims is that we knew far too little about stalking at that time, and what we know now we learned far too late for Morgan. So educate yourself with all the information you can find about stalkers and other stalking situations.  There are many good resources for stalking victims on the Internet as well as books, etc.  Another suggestion, if you are a current victim that is being stalked contact your state’s victims rights specialist and ask for advice and help.

We now know Morgan’s stalker was what is called a predatory stalker. This type of stalker has telling signs that were all there in Morgan’s case.

  • They hide their identity – In Morgan’s case he chose the cover of darkness, hiding in bushes, on our roof, it was so erie and frightening at the time to look out into darkness and just know he could be right there watching and waiting.
  • They want their victim to know they are right there, tapping on windows is a common trait – in Morgan’s case he was able to tap and bang on her windows without detection for months It was years after her death before we had enough clues to know how he might have been able to do this and it is actually quite simple.
  • They stalk for a shorter period of time
  • The are the most likely to end in violence
  • Researchers believe that during the stalking they fantasize about the all important end, plotting and planning exactly what they are going to do and how they are going to do it.

These were all very large red flags that we knew nothing about at the time. Morgan’s felony stalking detective that was assigned to her case told us he had just gone to a seminar on stalking and suggested we read this book they had given to them in his class.  I purchased the book and read it.  I then started asking questions about the connections and suggestions in the book as it pertained to Morgan’s stalking.  The detective then discounted what the book was saying.

We have been told that Morgan’s stalker, and his accomplice both had extensive juvenile criminal records, and we found out after Morgan’s murder that her stalker also had adult criminal records for many things including breaking and entering as well as criminal trespass (another term for stalking?).  Other parents also came to us after Morgan’s murder to inform us that her stalker was a drug dealer and from a gang where he met his accomplice.  All these things were not known to us at the time of Morgan’s stalking, but they were known to the Garfield County Sheriffs, and my question is…how could they have not known Morgan was in extreme danger, and why did they not share this information with us so we could have made sure she fled her stalker?

Morgan’s stalker was an accomplished trophy hunter from a very young age, very skilled in bow hunting which requires the utmost in abilities of concealment for long periods of time to be successful – perfect training for a stalker. He was a trophy hunter traveling the country in search of larger and more challenging prey to stalk and kill. This is yet another red flag. A retired FBI profiler believes that if there is a pool of suspects, and one is a trophy hunter, then he is your top suspect.

Does your stalker have a long history of stalking?

Serial stalkers bring greatly increased danger to their stalking, there was a long history of stalking in our area, only the sheriffs didn’t call it stalking. They wrote in their reports harassment, trespass, minor things like that, but never stalking.  Perhaps this keeps their crime statistics low and they like it like that. In Morgan’s case early on the patrol deputies told us about 5 separate incidents the summer before in the neighborhood across from us.  The same MO of tapping on the windows and a hooded figure dressed all in black staring up at their windows.  They said on the last incident a trash can was knocked over, the young woman visiting from out of town and alone in the house thought maybe it was a bear or some other kind of wildlife so she opened the door to see what it was and was shocked to see a person all dressed in black with a hood over their head.  Startled she ran back in the house, locked the door and called 911.  The hooded figure took off.  Patrol officers were luckily near by at that time and had a tracking dog with them.  They tracked the offender for over a mile and then lost him – most likely because of the water in the irrigation ditches at that time.

But then the felony stalking detective assigned to Morgan’s case said “I looked in to this and discovered it was really a rash of car stereo thefts not stalking at all.”  At least that is what he told me. I had a hard time believing the other 2 sheriff’s patrol officers individually made up the story about the previous summer so I was suspicious, but other people said I should believe the detective, why wouldn’t I?  But it was a lie. And the the truth began to present itself after Morgan’s murder – this was a serial stalker. I learned the truth, first because of the blog … other victims that had been stalked in the neighborhood across the road from us wrote in, one incident had happened just 2 weeks before Morgan returned back from California and her stalking had started.  They said they reported their incidents to the sheriffs and the sheriffs came out to their homes to investigate.  If these people had not written in to me I would never have known that the detective had been lying, something he did whenever he needed, but for what reason?  Was this all to keep the crime statistics low.  Were they worried if the truth came out the tourist industry would be hit?  Do they just not care about women – are girls and young woman in Garfield County not worth their time?  Crimes against women in the Garfield County Colorado area do exist, but you never hear about them.  What is going on?

You need to be your own advocate.  You need to take every precaution necessary to stay safe…you can not count on law enforcement to do that for you.  I love that Discovery ID says, “Finding The Truth Starts With Suspicion.”  It is so true.

We were all born with intuition for a reason.  Be skeptical about what you hear.  Sometimes people make up nonsensical excuses (lies) for things you know are not right.  Your “gut” will tell you when things don’t make sense and if they don’t make sense they are most likely wrong.

Be your own advocate for not only yourself, but your family as well.  Eyes wide open, see the facts for yourself instead of believing what others would like you to believe.  The facts don’t lie…the truth is the truth no matter how hard people try to hide it.

Amazon has the Discovery ID program “Suspicion – Edge of Insanity” offered for $1.99

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Just found this on Amazon, Suspicion – Edge of Insanity. I thought I would let everyone know that the episode that dramatizes what happened to Morgan can be purchased for $1.99 on Amazon for those who are unable to get Discovery ID on their TV sets.

Obviously it is a mini drama and the house, neighborhood, and exact events look different than they really were.  Morgan’s stalking lasted 4 months and the sheriffs were called over 50 times to our house, but the story had to be shrunk down to just over 40 minutes.

One part that was surprising to me was when I heard the actress say, “I have to get out of here” this was strange because in reality in the last month of Morgan’s stalking her sister, best friend, Godfather, soul mate, along with myself all tried to get her to leave to keep her safe, but Morgan would not do it.  She had a small puppy and would not have been allowed to bring her if she were to go stay with one of them.  I told her I would take care of her puppy, but she just wouldn’t leave her.  She felt it was irresponsible for her to not finish her semester at college and to leave her puppy behind so she refused to go.  That was Morgan – she was responsible to a fault.  She should have left.  I should have insisted.  Everyone had a bad feeling, not just me, and in the end when danger is felt you need to run to a safe place.  While victims cannot control the stalking behavior, they can be empowered to take steps to keep themselves, family and loved ones safe. The creation of a safety plan can assist victims in doing this. Trust your instincts.  If you’re somewhere that doesn’t feel safe, either find ways to make it safer, or leave.

The National Center for Victims of Crime suggests you have a stalking safety plan that includes packing a bag with important items you’d need if you had to leave quickly. Put the bag in a safe place, or give it to a friend or relative you trust.

I think Discovery ID did an excellent job on conveying the fear and utter devastation that happened.  I am thankful that this episode has brought more awareness to the seriousness of stalking.  One moment life was beautiful for our family and the next moment a dark presence had penetrated our world and our lives will never be the same again.  In a Colorado minute everything can change…

Wylah looking at the front door

Wylah looking at the front door

Drive a Spoke into the Wheels of Injustice!

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I would like to share a little something with all of you.  This really touched my heart when I read it yesterday.

A person came on Morgan’s Stalking facebook page and wrote, “Prayers for the parents and friends of Morgan.  I hope your drive and determination shakes up the justice system in Colorado.”

“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” – bonhoeffer

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The suspects needed criminal lawyers to protect them from criminal exposure!

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Morgan and Tessi

Morgan and Tessi

There have been many questions in the last 24 hours about the suspects in Morgan’s stalking and murder so I thought a blog about just one particular instance could help sum up what I came to know after Morgan had been killed.

First is the accomplice to the stalker, one afternoon before “she” went on the Dr. Phil show, and can still be seen on that recording at this link – Dr. Phil Show .  She was at a court hearing and the judge questioned her about her appearance on the show.  She and her father explained to the judge that a criminal attorney would accompany her to the filming to protect her from criminal exposure. During the taping of the show her criminal attorney was a few feet off camera and only allowed to speak once on camera. He only was given the chance to get out a few vile, false and malicious sentences that he had apparently rehearsed, and they never made to the actual show.

Also her famous statement was the line “where is the proof” which as it turns out had some history to it. To us she answered all allegations with the line, “where is the proof” which indicated mostly quilt to the readers of the blog who wrote in to me after the show aired. But then something else happened. “She” apparently had had a few stints in a rehab facility in Utah, verified by some of her acquaintances in the valley. Another young women wrote in to me to say she had just watched the Dr. Phil show and was so upset when she saw “her” use the same line she had used many times before while in rehab.  She said whenever “she” was involved or instigated some scandalous activity, “she” had the same expression she used on the Dr. Phil show and she would demand “where is the proof?”

Morgan’s actual stalker took the criminal lawyer thing even one step further – he was not even allowed to be on the show because he could not risk criminal exposure so his lawyer just called in to the show.

At the time I wondered what all this meant so at the hearing I asked and the answer I received was, “you haven’t done anything wrong so you have no risk of criminal exposure  which means you don’t need a lawyer.” So if you are thinking the same thing I thought, which was, if they have done nothing wrong, as they claimed, then why did they need lawyers in order to be on the show? Maybe Morgan’s Garfield County sheriff’s felony stalking detective should have been at the hearing too.

Of course I am judging this all on my personal experiences and I would think that if I need a criminal lawyer to protect me from criminal exposure before I could talk I would think I had done something wrong. After all I was told that was why I did not need an attorney, because I had done nothing wrong and did not need one to be present – so why did they need one?

Morgan has never been able to speak for herself, that is now left to Steve and I. Victims need a voice.  Victims should not be forgotten because that is what the criminal would love to have happen.  We will always work to bring awareness to the crime of stalking and in fact that is the subject of one of my next blogs – some of the other stalking incidents in our neighborhood that came to light after Morgan’s death. And yes, the sheriffs knew about them, and yes, the detective immediately tried to cover it up. As I have said before the why is my real question now. Interesting that now that same detective has become the new Garfield County Coroner.

Covering up a crime just allows the criminals to go on violating other innocent people, and that is so very wrong. Covering up a crime is also called obstruction of justice and that in itself is a crime as well.

A Few Thoughts After seeing Discovery Channel’s interpretation of Morgan’s Stalking and Murder

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Morgan posing on one of her Dads projects.

Morgan posing on one of her Dads projects.

Morgansparkles

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I have just finished watching the Discovery Channel’s presentation of Morgan’s story for the first time. To Rhonda, our next door neighbor at the horrific time I apologize. Rhonda is cheery and engaging, the British idea of what she might be was not even close – sorry Rhonda.  The rest of the depiction is a fairly accurate. While the true horror could never be recaptured I applaud the producers, directors and the writer as coming as close as they could. Stalking is a horrific and serious crime – and this show has brought awareness of the seriousness of stalking and the fear it creates.

A stranger lurking out in the dark and stealing from you all that you love is as difficult to capture as it is to live through. Morgan is brave beyond words, just ask her friends, over four years later and they will tell you how brave she was. But our trust was misplaced in the crime prevention of Garfield County. When it comes to victims of stalking there is no crime prevention there.  I have been working trying to keep another young woman safe from her stalker in Garfield County – nothing has changed.  If left up to them she could be dead right now just like Morgan.  Today we rely on a strong sense of what is right in order to achieve some small measure of justice for Morgan.

Beyond Morgan’s stalking and murder lies the crimes against other victims that we continue to fight for today and will continue to fight for as long as we have have life in our limbs. Morgan’s voice was strong, she was articulate and very concise with her words and carrying on both her memory and her quest for justice for women will never end for Steve and myself.

I realized tonight how even an hour was far too little time to tell the story of Morgan as an hour is far too little time to tell the stories of the other victims I have been blessed to be able to help in my own little way. the arduous path we were forced into after discovering just a little of the truth behind Morgan’s death is not only a complete story on its own – this story is in its infancy.

Stalking victims live a nightmare every day, and at times, every minute of every day. Local law has not the resources or the inclination to deal with what the reality is. This only compounds what the victim is subjected to. Those that live are scarred for life and those that are killed by their tormentors leave an endless sea of broken spirits and broken hearts attempting to deal with their passing.

Still others are left to deal with the “mysterious disappearance” of their love one, which can be the most taxing of all. I truly wish I held the compassion, love and understanding to return all these upended lives to a small semblance of normalcy, but alas – I do not. Instead I do what I can with those who need immediate help and commiserate with complete understanding for the rest.

I feel blessed with new energy going forward and have many ideas going forward. I live anew in the knowledge that every victim I am able to help is a small consolation to the very painful and abrupt way that Morgan’s life was viscously stolen from her.

Thank all of you for your kind words and understanding on this very trying evening, together we will all fight the wrongs that face us and insure a more hopeful future for all.

In the memory of Morgan…