In the morning we try to sleep in, but Morgan’s motion alarm goes off at 7:18 am. It is still dark out, and I get out of bed to give Steve a break. I go out and drive the neighborhood. At about 7:30 am I drive by Keenan’s house, and his car is there. The light in the front room is out. I circle the rest of the block, Steve had a list of the “normal” state of houses, cars, porch lights, and everything is as his list says to expect it.
Morgan was going to leave at 3:00 pm for her babysitting job in Aspen. She is picking up a coworker on the way, and they will go in together. Before she leaves she tells me about an incident the day before. It was around 7:30 and she was on the back deck watching her puppy play in the grass. Then she heard a noise around the side yard, like a rustling noise, on Ken’s side of the house (this is also right where the Aspen tree is located that we find out that the stalker has been climbing – but we didn’t find that out until after Morgan was already dead.) She said she stepped over the fence and went to see what it was. She stood, and waited and watched and never saw anything. It was daylight out and she felt she was safe to be there.
First I told her to never do that again. Just to go in the house and let us know. Then I went to tell Steve to tell her the same thing, he had this way of communicating with Morgan when I couldn’t. And then I reviewed the video cameras. There was nothing, and she left to go to work. This was making me so nervous – all it would take is just a few minutes and someone could grab her…
Morgan came home at about 11 pm and I met her in the drive as usual. She came in and went straight to her room. Rhonda’s dog started barking at 11:05 and she called to tell us about the barking, and the motion lights above Morgan’s windows being on. She was such a great neighbor, always on the look out, and always calling when she saw something out of the ordinary.
We were pretty much again getting to the point where part of us wanted to ignore everything, and part of us wanted to never stop with the hot pursuit. This time we were all so tired and worn out and we tried ignore and went to sleep.
(Police reports later show the “suspect” was not working this evening. On 10.1.2011 he worked from 1:00 am – 6:00 am & then from 6:32 am – 9:34 am… so he was free this evening to continue his torment)
Today it is September 29, 2012 – And there is a lesson we learned but did not know back then. When Rhonda’s dog would bark I believe now it was for the absolute best reason. He was small and short , and if we had bothered to get down to his perspective we would have seen he was looking across at our house, and seeing up on the roof. But we did not. And Rhonda somehow knew when his barking was different, and more meaningful – which we also did not fully appreciate at the time.
It is not uncommon for stalking cases to go on for months and even years. Have “quiet times” and “active times”. We were told to document everything as best we could. I kept a stalking timeline that morphed into different versions. We also had a DVR which had six cameras worth of data from our yard for the last 20 days at all times – then it would “write” over itself. I kept a dayrunner for our “normal things” and we have been able to download all the texts from all of our phones from that time. It is an enormous amount of data. More than we could ever fully go through. I can recreate days, but I can’t recreate Morgan, and that part is specifically what Steve and I hope to do in the future. Turn all that data into the ‘Ah ha’ that stops a bad situation from turning worse. Because if you are in a bad stalking situation the chances of it turning worse are real, and that needs to be stopped.
Click here to read about the 62nd day of Morgan’s stalking https://morgansstalking.com/?p=1518
I wondered if, when u reviewed the cameras information, you saw Morgan going over the fence to check to see what the noise was?
Is it possible that the cameras were not working right? Could you see the puppy playing in the back yard?
This is all such a mystery, who could be doing all this.
We could see the dogs coming in and out of view in the cameras and no we could not see Morgan go over the fence because that was one of the “holes” that were not caught on camera – we never had 100% coverage.
And the answer to your second question would be someone that has done this before – someone not afraid of LE, someone that knows outdoor cameras, someone that can patiently wait, a predator that knows when to hide and knows when to strike.
Did the tree that the stalker used to climb onto roof ever have cameras on that?
No unfortunately.
My Friends who used to own a Farm in Zimbabwe… where the Goverment took over the farms from the white farmers… These farms were really mini communities… Knocks would come at the door at all hours of the night… some were for emergencies such as babies needing to be delivered.. others were more sinister and there was always a shotgun in hand for such emergencies…. but the theory among dogs was to always have 4 or 5 large aggressive dogs but you always… always… had one hyper, yippy dog like a Jack Russell… Reason being is that the big dogs were always complacent and just hanging around… but the little wired one would always bark and when that bark was at a certain pitch that meant buisness… the big dogs would get up to see what was going on… if you pay attention… dogs will tell you a great amount… which is exactly why I am always harping here on the replies about K9’s or the lack of them…. inexcusable… How many could be purchased for the price of a Tank I do not know but should be in current community discussions… the fact is… not many are needed… but a tank is?
I wonder if Toni took her dog that was at the door that ill fated night around Keenan would she freak out on him. They never forget.
Stephan – That was fascinating…thank you. More info – we had a little Lhasa Apso who would bark when anyone walked by the street – nothing and no one got by her. She was small but if an intruder came in she would jump through the air and bite…she was very, very old and suffering so we had her put down 2 weeks before Morgan’s stalking started. We now know she was protecting Morgan.
I do wonder if our big dog Tessi was ever next to the suspect if she would attack? Or at least raise her hackles?
I think she would let it be known she did not like him.
I just had a thought.
You said Keenan moved while your family was on vacation. I am betting he took that time to scoop out your yard/house and find all his spots to hide.
Most likely – yuck!
Toni, my heart goes out to you and Steve, You have been through so much. I Do believe that you will get justice for Morgan! Is Keenan still in the area, or just MIA. Such a F///ing creeper. My love to all of you, and bless you for staying as strong as you are, Justice will come!!!
Thanks Tammy I don’t know where he is but people are telling me he is still around but laying low. Steve and I just have to keep moving forward without thinking about him right now and I know you are right – justice will come!
you posted this to me,…. that isn’t this crazy…….??? I remember last year that sometimes , you just had to laugh about it, or you would cry…..it was so crazy…..I remember saying , screw it, let’s set bear traps, and you went into a frenzy thinking about a poor innocent animal being caught in one, and couldn’t do it….the crazy thing too….you had one…….that showed how big your heart was……but my…. how misguided we were….this is where your blog helps people. Still to this day, I know you would never want to harm an innocent animal, but compared to losing Morgan….gosh….I know we would have traded in a million trapted rabbits, dogs, deer to just have her here . Xo
I remember all those talks last year – thanks for reminding me. Love Toni
I hate to even say this. But if someone was in your house while you were gone, over time, then perhaps Tesi became familiar with him and wasn’t as alarmed as he should have been. Just a thought.
I believe you are right – as it is the first time Tessi meets someone she wags her tail, runs up to them and wants to lick them…much different then Wylah’s reaction now which is cautious at best.
Very curious to see what happened after K & ? broke up. I believe it was around October 16 from previous comments. Presumably he moved out of B’s house at this point so his access to your house would have been made more difficult perhaps.
Yes he did move out in October but access to our house more difficult – don’t think so. He worked about 5 minutes from our house and I’m sure he knew how to get into the abandoned houses on the block and lay low. Plus I don’t believe for one second in time that he wasn’t still friends with or dating ? – I think that was a ruse. That part I know for a fact.
Is K the father of B’s baby?
Toni,
The caption under the picture should read (for the guilty to read)
“What a Tangled Web We Weave When First We Practice to Deceive” Sir Walter Scott
Did I miss something? ? got pregnant?
First let me say bless y’all for what you’re doing.. I currently have a best friend who is “missing” I use that term loosely because I know she was murdered.. and who did it.. the LE screwed up so bad that I have taken A LOT into my own hands.. it’s a shame that the people who are paid and praised for “protecting” many times have NO idea what the hell they are doing.. and when a person like me.. petite, stiletto wearing, blonde, “eye candy” do their job more efficiently and with better expertise it just pissed them off.. and rather than ask for my help they threaten me with empty threats.. I can feel your perseverance.. this I’m certain of because I feel this with my case.. not only to find my best friend but serve justice to the HIGHEST degree to all involved.. I will take them down.. I will prove and show their guilt.. and I will be there when the gates of hell close and they are forever paying the price for what they did.. keep up the amazing strength and good work.. some days it feels like it will ever end.. but it will.. no telling when. But justice will be served for Morgan.. and my best friend.. my thoughts and prayers are with y’all.. and just remember, no matter how many people try to knock u down if u stand above them seeking justice and knowing the truth in your heart, you will prevail.. you will WIN!!
I have been reading this blog and completely understand your confusion- how on earth does he always know where she is? So, I can’t help but wonder- nowadays, with so many predators and children who have cell phones, I wonder if a person could intercept or monitor text messages in real time. You all used them so frequently to communicate and it appears that he knew all that was said. Have you talked to your cell phone company to see if he may have impersonated your husband to try and access text messages? If he had been in your house, he likely had all that he needed to “verify” the account over the phone. Just an idea to explore. Good luck!
I’ve been reading and am wondering, why did you all just not move? I had a stalker and moved. I know the fear. Your daughter was grown. Did she know more than she let on? You were very loving and, seemingly sheltering parents. Maybe she didn’t want you to know something. I’ve only read this far. I keep reading of hearing things, running outside, not finding or seeing anything on cameras. Maybe you all were some paranoid. Not saying there wasn’t a stalker.
Thanks for asking Carla. Morgan’s stalking/terrorization lasted only 4 months before she was killed. We had no knowledge about stalking before her stalking started so for the first month we did not know what to do or think…we just reacted. We put up motion detectors, motions lights, had personal protocols. We would run outside with a baseball bat & pepper spray. We would call the sheriffs.
Before the stalking began Morgan used to come and go without a worry, she was an adult and a free soul, she used to stay in the house to take care of things by herself while Steve & I were out of town. She used to travel by herself, sometimes driving and sometimes flying. She loved traveling with us but there were times she flew to visit family and to work on her own. So being called a sheltering parent is really a far cry from reality.
Then after her stalking started she was afraid to come home to an empty house, as this could mean her stalker was waiting for that perfect moment, when she was alone, to attack. Morgan then employed a stalking protocol, we told her when we wouldn’t be home so she could stay away till we returned and she would text or call us when she was on her way home so someone could always meet her in the driveway when she returned. She always told us if she would be sleeping over someone else’s house so we would know she was safe. This is called a safety protocol. Morgan’s close male friend slept out on the berm one night during the first month of the stalking, before he had to leave for college, he was trying to catch the stalker. She had other male friends she grew up with that wanted to go find and deal with her stalker. In the first month we all heard the stalking, I saw the stalker, and then we mounted our first wildlife camera and caught him by surprise and had a picture of the stalker. Then things changed, we added more cameras and other ideas about how to “catch” the stalker because at that point we were being told that obsessed stalkers can follow their prey – across state lines, and in 2 cases we knew of it was across continents. Finally her sister, Godfather, friends that all lived far away, insisted she come stay with them to keep safe, they were all frightened for her. But she would not leave her little puppy behind, and none of these living situations allowed dogs. So Steve, Morgan and I decided to move. We looked at other places that were defensible (never looked at homes with that in mind before) and finally decided on one and started to pack…we were too late. She was murdered only approximately 4 weeks later. Steve & I moved out of that house as soon as we could after Morgan had died and I cried and cried when looking at the bins of her stuff, the ones she had packed herself before she was killed, the ones that she had already packed for the move. She had them all organized as to what she wouldn’t need to unpack right away…leaving the day-to-day things she was still using in her room. And as far as not seeing things on camera that is completely not true – we have a lot of footage of the stalker on camera, others actually heard and saw the stalker, others as well as the sheriffs knew who the stalker was, Morgan saw and identified her stalker, she was not only
NOT paranoid, she was like most victims of stalking, and she would vacillate between being completely stressed and frightened of the stalker, to anger towards the stalker – not wanting to allow her stalker to change her life. Stalking is a crime. Stalking needs to be taken seriously. Stalking needs to be dealt with early on before it can lead to lethal outcomes as it did in Morgan’s case.
Hi Toni,
Did anyone ever figure out why the stalker picked Morgan to target and torment? It makes no sense. I mean, what did he want from her? Just to make her life miserable? It would be wonderful if he could be forced to sit down with you and Steve and tell you why he did this and to answer any questions that you want to ask him. Then he needs to be put away for the rest of his life.