We did a power wash outside of our house to make sure the dirt under the windows would catch more footprints, the sheriff’s deputies had suggested we try this.  Someone even suggested to me that putting fresh soil around the whole house, directly under the windows, would yield even better shoe prints, but at this point, even though we are utilizing some of these suggestions, we feel that with all the motion detector lights, and motion alarms that we have been putting up, that the stalker should not be able to stand right up against our house and peer in the windows. And for some reason this gives us a measure of comfort…it should not have, because in these first beginning days of Morgan’s stalking, none of us really knew how bad it would get.  We didn’t know that everything we used to keep him/her (the stalker) out, just made it more of a challenge for him.  We didn’t realize that the more often the sheriffs had a presence here, the more excited it made him.  This was becoming a bigger and bigger challenge for him.  Morgan is still sleeping on the closet floor, and thankfully was not startled awake in her sleep tonight…we were all very happy.

Click here to read about the 14th day of Morgan’s stalking https://morgansstalking.com/?p=593

Today August 14, 2012 my thoughts and feelings about stalking are so much more evolved than from a year ago. It seems simple to me that law enforcement should be able to differentiate between the different “typology” of stalkers, if they had had that training it would have made all the difference in the world.  Morgan’s stalker was never seen (but that is typical about most stalkers, especially in the beginning – they stalk and they surveil in the shadows), Morgan’s stalker seemed to “get off” on the sheriffs showing up at our house. What if they had been able to employ different degrees of urgency in catching a stalker, one that could become more lethal, and better warn the victims?  The stalkers who progress to become serial killers or murderers – shouldn’t law enforcement have a type of profile to make this determination? The next serial killer could be lurking outside your window. It’s the first thing we tell people now when they ask us for advice – to look up the “typology.” Criminals are constantly improving their protection under the law, while as for the victims, it has stayed the same – almost no rights. Remember that we are supposed to be guaranteed the most basic rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Morgan and the rest of us had very little of that during the time of her stalking. Yet even if the stalker had been caught in the beginning, the worst he would have faced was misdemeanor trespassing, right up there with jay walking, as one officer compared it to. Not much of a deterrent is it? The sheriff’s patrol officers really wanted to catch the stalker, but because of the protocol they employed of “catch him in the act”, they never stood a chance, and neither did we.  As long as he could outrun, or hide from everyone, and not get collared near the house, what would happen to him? Nothing. This was, as Mike Proctor puts it,  “tombstone mentality” and Morgan paid the price for that mentality with her life. The stalker had more basic rights then we did, Morgan, and even our family were scrutinized far more closely then the stalker ever was – remember how the system used to allow the rape victim to be psychologically raped all over again when she reported the rape, and then again when the case finally went to trial?  Here we go again, maybe that is why stalking is the most under reported crime at this time.  The Constitution was written to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, and promote the general welfare – none of this existed for Morgan once she had a stalker.  After a effort by the Garfield County Sheriff’s office to try to catch the stalker, using a protocol that doesn’t work, (how many times have they actually caught a stalker in this county without the stalker just confessing?), the coroner’s office never ordered an investigation to find out why or how our daughter died, and then the felony stalking investigation was officially closed 5 month after her murder.  This approach will not protect you, you are not safe.  If it’s our government’s job to ensure its people these rights, then they failed miserably.  Not only for ourselves, but for our community, as we believe this stalker has done this before, and will do it again.  I have received emails from other women that live in the neighbor right across from us that tell of similar incidents, incidents that were reported to the Garfield Sheriffs, one only 2 weeks before Morgan’s stalking started, one that even had a sheriff’s canine track the suspect, before losing him down the county road.  We had the first 2 patrol officers tell us about approximately 7 incidents similar to Morgan’s that happened in that subdivision the previous summer before Morgan’s.

What would you do if your daughter, husband and yourself were being stalked and your child was murdered, but law enforcement didn’t care to investigate?

We are so very blessed, and thankful that we have so many hundreds, and now almost thousands of people that want to help.  Now we need our county to step up and admit, like all of us have done at one time or another, that mistakes were made, that they will now fix them and go after the person or persons responsible for our daughter’s death.  We want to do this out of love.  Love for other children, daughters, sisters, young women, and anyone that may be in danger right now, or in the future, from a sick obsessed stalker that is still out there and will most likely to do it again, and again.  To us – this is not acceptable, and things have to change.

After work today we went to purchase more motion detector lights, the high intensity types, along with more motion detector alarms.  We are trying to completely cover the perimeter of our house, and perhaps get advanced warning of someone approaching.

Earlier in the day at  2:58 pm I sent Morgan a text message, “M – text me a really good picture of Wyhla, and is that how you spell her name?”  Morgan texts me back, “You have a picture of her on your phone.  Or dad’s.  It’s Wylah.”

At 4:23 pm I sent her a text back, “Thanks!”  Then Morgan sends me a text that says, “Mhm.  Whatcha doing?”  At 5:59 pm I send an answer, “Just leaving Costco should we come get you?”  At 6:17 pm she responds, “No, it’s cool I was just wondering why you wanted a pic.”  I said, “To send to Bill.”  Bill is Morgan’s Godfather – he lives in Kauai.  She had just spent 2 weeks with him, and his wife Diane in June, and had such a wonderful time with them both…she misses them.  They haven’t seen a picture of her new puppy yet, so I thought I would send them one.  Morgan writes back, “Aww.  Yay.”

At 6:38 pm I sent her a text that says, “Suppose you can do that later perhaps?”  (not sure what that was about, I guess she must have called or sent her dad a text about something).  Then at 7:43 pm I sent Morgan a text that said, “Almost 8:00 pm can we come get you?”  Morgan texts back, “Give me an hour?”  I say, “OK – 8:45 where?”  Morgan texts back, “Mom…Nine.  Just call me when you’re close.”  I sent her another text at 8:46 pm, “We are at the Methodist Church right one?” She texts back, “K. Just a second.”

It’s strange to suddenly be treating our 19-year-old daughter like she was twelve again, but she doesn’t seem to mind at all.  She’s afraid, we’re afraid, and we are trying not to talk about our fear – talking about it would make it real.

Her stalking has been going on for 11 days now, and even though I may call it a quiet night, we don’t really sleep well.  Our guard has been raised and we are becoming, what the sheriff’s tell us later is called “hyper-vigilant.”  It’s like when you sleep in a new place that you are uncomfortable in, every noise no matter how small or slight, has added significance now.  We lie in bed and instead of kissing and saying, “Good night honey” we talk about what we are going to do if we should hear a rock against the window, because we know someone is out there trying to terrorize us.  Who’s going out the front door?  Who’s going out the back door?  Mag lights on, Mag lights off?  How are the two of us going to corner him/her?  We actually have no idea who he is, or if it’s even a he.  So far we have never caught the slightest glimpse.  If it were not for his/her actual footprints, up against our house in front of our windows, we would be dealing with that small doubt – we have had so many theories from our friends that maybe the windows could make noises on their own with temperature changes, or it could be bats with faulty sonar that smack into windows – however none of those leave Etnie skater shoe footprints on the ground.

Morgan still feels safer sleeping in our closet on the floor, and tonight there was no noise on the closet window…it was a quiet night.

Click here to read about the 12th day of Morgan’s stalking https://morgansstalking.com/?p=550

Morgan tells us in the morning she has decided that she will just send me text messages from her cell phone whenever she hears a noise on the closet window (she is still sleeping in my closet), this way nobody can hear her call out to me in the room.

Morgan’s car is no longer running, so she either takes my car, or the bus, or gets a ride with friends when going places. Morgan goes up to Aspen to drop off something as a favor for me, and also to visit with friends.  She sends me a text message at 1:53 pm, “Delivered :)”, I wrote back, “Perfect/thanks!”  Then at 7:32 pm I sent her a text that said, “Just passing the airport.  Where should we meet??”  We are going into Aspen to pick her up and bring her home.  Morgan texted back, “I’m at Paul’s.  Gonzo’s right next door.”  I sent her a text back, “K  – be there soon.”  Morgan sent back, “K”, then I sent back, “We are here.”  “We” meaning Steve and I, so we now all drive back down valley to go home together.  We get home by 9:00 pm tonight.  Tonight we think we hear noise outside our master bedroom…Steve does a loop around the house with a flashlight, but doesn’t see anything.  Steve and I are being very careful not to talk above a whisper, while in the room.  Morgan is still sleeping in our closet with her puppy, unless she sleeps at a friend’s house.

Thinking back on what happened last summer I can see there were so many signs, and so many warnings that I was receiving from my intuition – it was trying to tell me there was danger, and what I should do…but I didn’t listen to my intuition – I listened to other people’s advice.  Morgan’s dad and I thought we were coming up with “logical” solutions to this problem, and we had no idea how bad this problem really was.  Now today, Morgan’s dad, Steve, and I are left with a deep, deep hurt that will never go away.  It hurts every day.  We try to put on a happy face, and go on with our lives, but when we are alone, or with each other, we break down and weep, and try not to think about how we failed Morgan.  We never thought last year, in August of 2011, that in four months our youngest child, Morgan, would be dead because of her stalker.  We never thought the justice system could fail our daughter, and us so miserably.  Now our life’s mission is clear, get justice for Morgan, raise awareness, and save others.  I just wish we could have saved Morgan!

Click here to read about the 11th day of Morgan’s stalking https://morgansstalking.com/?p=536