Morgan deserves answers, not denial – Is that too much for her to ask???
Counting the days,
We have hopes, Steve and I, and realistic expectations. The Blog is quiet, but we are working hard, and the United States Postal Service, and FedEx deliver letters, with plenty of documents for us. We want Morgan’s case opened, we want the truth to come out, and we want justice for Morgan.
Morgan is, and will always be on our mind, along with the next young woman whom we so fervently work to prevent a repeat of what happened to Morgan, and as it turns out this week – another young woman who disappeared, under suspicious circumstances, in Garfield County, only to have her family receive a quick, “no foul play here,” from our Garfield County Sheriffs department.
Sound Familiar?
Her remains were discovered close to where she initially went missing and, thanks to the CBI, oh what I would not give for their presence at Morgan’s death scene, the remains were identified, and our most heartfelt condolences goes out to her family. It is a day even I can only imagine what it is like as they were wishing it were not true.
Her story of the moment is here, Young woman’s remains found near where she went missing have been identified. And with two young children left at the wayside, and wondering, I can only pray that the long overdue justice for a missing young woman, that was both a mother, and a daughter, comes swiftly and atoning for the callous undeserved treatment of the past.
Garfield County again displays its indifference to Crimes Against Women and what a total lack of regard for Constitutional rights goes on, unless it involves a gun, portending nothing encouraging for all the women, young and old, who live here.
On the morning Morgan was found, dead, to err on the side of too much, instead of too little, should have come with no question. Instead it did not come at all for Morgan, and how long it takes for grieving parents to fully realize that is just amazing. I have recently taken delivery of the “FBI handbook of crime scene forensics,” and once again get to read about all of the essential actions that did not take place at Morgan’s crime scene, so far they are innumerable.
They, being the Garfield County Sheriffs Department, could have made one phone call, to the CBI, the agency that Pitkin County, a Garfield neighbor that takes crime seriously, would call without question, in fact it is not only without question, it is protocol, the rules. For a microscopic evaluation of a suspicious death scene that Morgan deserved after four months of stalking, and a worry on the mind of her felony stalking Detective who warned us, “if anything her stalking will escalate,” and three days later, Morgan is found dead.
Months later I deal with the threats of the contracted forensic pathologist to change her cause of death to suicide, but he couldn’t find any pills or residue of pills in her stomach, threats which are ignored when I report this to the Coroner who hired this man, and the Sheriffs who, actually I don’t really know what they do, except to stand up for your right to bear arms. Even write essays about it.
But you know what? When your daughter is murdered and the Sheriffs and Coroner ignore the threats you are reporting; but detectives run, two at a time, to record the report of your gnome gone from your porch, but still refuse, yes blatantly refuse, to report the burglary of Morgan’s jewelry on the night she was killed – something is not right. When that is your reality – the right to bear arms becomes but soft whisper in the far distance.
It did not take a gun to protect Morgan, as her stalking was expected to escalate. It took something that Garfield County did not have, and does not have today, it took simply the knowledge of how to effectively deal with stalkers, especially the kind that was stalking Morgan, one of the most dangerous typologies.
I have recently read protocols that explain what to do if the first attempt to catch the stalker failed, how attempts could be completely changed for the next stalking incident. Morgan’s protocol was based on the lie that some unwritten law in the State of Colorado required seven weeks, 49 days, before it could be considered a stalking case.
As if that lie was not bad enough, in the non-attempt to protect Morgan, it was actually 68 days before I received a phone call from the Detective that was finally assigned to the case. Even with their total misconception of the laws they are sworn to uphold, they thought somehow 49 days being the requirement, it became over 70+ days before we even had a case number, and so then the fact that Morgan was a stalking victim was not a complete shock to the new Deputy arriving to answer a call of yet another stalking incident. A call not to 911, as this was not necessary, they answered a call from the Sheriff’s dispatch number.
If my math is correct that was three weeks longer than their incorrect knowledge of Colorado Law, the ones they were sworn to uphold. Ten weeks of stalking, ten weeks of oh, we are not allowed to collect evidence until a Detective is assigned to the case. Ten weeks of complete terror for Morgan. Then at the end, three days before she was killed it was, “if anything it was going to escalate.” And Morgan was dead, of natural causes, until her doctors told me it was all wrong, and I told the contracted forensic pathologist, “Excuse me, due to this fact, and that fact, a few very prominent doctors in the country think you might have made a mistake here?”
A Mesa County Investigator shook his head and told me, “Oh Dr. Kurtzman does not like to be wrong.” And I say, what about Morgan? What about my 20-year-old daughter that was killed – according to what every other single person reviewing her autopsy is telling me. I say that is not denial!!! Not a mother who can’t accept! It is simply the truth, and it never changes. Her Amitriptyline blood level of 7,909 will not change. It will always be very, very astronomical. Morgan weighed 115 pounds. So in another report a woman who weighed 171 pounds was the highest yet recorded, would Morgan’s blood level (if you took into account her weight and the fact that her blood was drawn approximately 12 hours after her death) not be the equivalent of 11,863+? Absolutely one of the highest levels ever recorded at a top lab in the country. But it was being called insignificant according to the contracted forensic pathologist who did her autopsy. A fact that the officials in Garfield County chose to ignore. Then let’s add in the five date rape drugs found in her gastric fluid, seven months later, and those numbers or detectability of the drugs present will not change. The astounding malpractice of the contacted forensic pathologist to jump into this evidentiary quagmire that exhausted her sample, when the truth is supposed to be somewhere within his scope, or sphere of influence, just has everyone asking why?
And, why oh why, does a contracted forensic pathologist suddenly take it upon himself to run more tests on a, “closed case.” After threats to me that he could do just that, and another prominent forensic pathologist assured me that he can not. But out of fear, and worry I reported to the Sheriffs department, and the Coroner his threats, then he carries through on his threats. Is there justice for Morgan somewhere in all that? Because if there is I must have missed it…completely.
And last week another set of bones was discovered (see the link above), a young woman labeled as, “no sign of foul play.” And NOW there is an investigation, eight years after her death. Why don’t they just amend the Garfield County sign on the highway to include the warning that if you are a woman, you might want to keep driving, because you are not very safe here?
If you are missing you will be called a runaway (even if you have never run away before, even if you are a straight A student – doesn’t matter they won’t look in to it), unless you are 22 with 2 children, then it will simply be called no sign of foul play, so no investigation, basically the same thing. If that is not blatant discrimination against women, then what would it take? Really, what would it take to correctly label what is going on here?
The stigma in this country about women is out of control. Just last week I heard two men talking to each other about a coworker, they sounded like high school girls the way they they said insults about her. But what almost made me turn around was when they complained they weren’t allowed to whistle at work because she had been kidnapped in California and had PTSD from when the kidnapper would whistle and beat her up. These ignorant a**holes are everywhere, most likely the same mindset as our law enforcers.
That’s shocking, and so very sad. When you accept the idea of sexual discrimination in Morgan’s case, then facts all point to that and it is exactly what happened to Morgan. If it wasn’t like that she would most likely still be alive today. Violence against women – it has to stop! Discrimination against women – it has to stop! Men should not treat women like this – just like being a racist, and saying racists comments in public…how dare they!
Toni,
What has been going on in my life, with my stalker proves to me, people think these things are ok. My stalker has gotten away with the most violent, vicious, heinous destruction of a human life. The world thinks what this man is doing, is more than acceptable behavior. It is an evil world!
I believe it Lynn, and we have a road map now that we are about to launch into, to try to make those changes, so the world as a whole, can see how wrong this is. This is a sick mentality that really goes to the heart of the problem…violence against women is NOT OK!
When your own father, brothers, godly people, religious people, friends, strangers, employers, stalking advocates, women’s rights advocates and the list goes on………. think it is ok for a man to stalk and terrorize a woman, you got a huge problem.
Change, you think this man’s behavior is going to change. The world told this man, he can do whatever he wants to me. Nothing is going to change, with my situation. This man owns the world. He gets to own women. He is the most entitled stalker, in the world.
He is the hero, my stalker is the hero and I am
the lazy, mentally ill, loser. This world and the people that live in it, love and cherish terrorizing others. When you are rich and famous, you are above the law. Nothing is going to change in my situation, nothing.
Lynn – please don’t give up and don’t think things will never change…I know it’s been a long time for you, but I just “feel” that change is coming and it will help you as well. Change doesn’t come fast enough for some of us and it always extracts a price, but it’s worth it if in the long run the truth surfaces and people get the protection they deserve and which is their Constitutional right!
Lynn – I am not saying your stalker will “change” I don’t believe they ever do – it’s a compulsion and more…what I mean is the mentality of law enforcement as well as the general public – raising awareness of the seriousness of stalking is paramount.
I am just astounded that they do not expect foul play as they call it. If her jewelry was stolen and her fingernails ripped off and damaged and there were no drugs kept in the home how can this be anything but a murder I just dont get it
You and me and about a thousand or more other people out there are asking the same question. I hope all the digging we have been doing for the last year is going to pay off…hang in there.
Toni, your story has made me so very sad and I am sorry that your beautiful Morgan is no longer here. Please, please, please tell me why a list of Morgan’s missing jewelry has never been submitted to the police or pawn stores? Her “good” jewelry should be easily identifiable and easy to trace back to the seller. That would be the “smoking gun” you need for proof that the person you claim murdered her and took her things did just that.
I am no fan or friend of those you accuse but there are so many questions about Morgan’s passing, especially the manner of her death. Forcing someone to orally ingest that much anything would cause vomiting and/or aspiration (been a critical care nurse a very long time). I don’t read any evidence of either.
I admire the fact that you are striving so very hard for the daughter it is clear you loved so very much. Morgan’s story has impacted me in ways I can’t begin to explain. I wish nothing but peace for you all, especially your precious daughter. Be assured that Morgan has touched more lives with her death than she would had she still been alive but I wish she was. I truly wish she was.
Sherrill as soon as I was allowed back in Morgan’s room I discovered a burglary had occurred when some of her bigger, more valuable pieces that were on her dresser earlier that last day, as well as that night before she came home, were missing (I had been in her room to check on her cat, before Morgan came home that night, and I saw them on her dresser), by her jewelry box, and as I always, I did speak to our Detective on the phone about the missing pieces.
He said to start looking through her bedroom, and to let him know if I found them, especially the one necklace from her former boyfriend, as it could be a possible link to jealousy on the part of her stalker. Over the following days I looked and continually discovered more pieces of jewelry missing – some valuable, some sentimental, some from former boyfriends. I continued to look and found the one necklace I was looking for under some clothes on her desk. Very important to note that I do not know if it was shock, denial, or my minds way of dealing with the sudden death of my daughter, but I never consciously equated the potential burglary of jewelry – with the stalker escalating to being in her room – and her death. Steve did not make the connection at all either.
Detective Glassmire however was updated about the missing pieces, as well as the piece that was located, and I believe should have made the connection that our minds were fighting not to accept. How could the discovery of a potential burglary committed in Morgan’s room sometime over the night she died not immediately set off another investigation of her room? It is impossible!
I believed Detective Glassmire would be following up on this important lead, just like the phone call James Harris made on the morning Morgan’s body was found, confessing that he knew who the stalker was. I kept asking the Detective if he had followed up with the woman that James had called, and the Detective kept telling me he was going to, but finally months later I got so frustrated I called her myself, and emailed the Detective what she said. He then told me my email was good enough, and there was no need to call her on his part – that was shocking to me!
As for the jewelry I got frustrated when I discovered that he had not followed up on that either, even after I told him about the article in the paper about Keenan being pulled over on a warrant for stolen jewelry issued within days of Morgan’s murder, and then arrested for that, as well as drugs, a scale, etc. found in his car. Instead Steve and I went to the Cash for Gold establishment as Detective Glassmire had given Steve the address and claimed he could not go there because it was not his jurisdiction. The Cash for Gold establishment recognized the picture of Keenan that I showed them, said he was a regular customer, remembered that the Glenwood Police has spoken to them about the jewelry and confiscated the stolen jewelry, they searched high and low while we were there but had no records to show us if Morgan’s jewelry had been taken there – they said to talk to the Glenwood Police since they took the jewelry. I then went to the Glenwood Police Station, asked for the arrest record, they could not find it and said it was very unusual because after 3 months it should have been in the computer – sent me to the DA’s office. The DA’s office could not find it and told me that maybe it was still on an Investigators desk and they would call me. The next day I got a very angry Investigator calling me to say if I want any information to call our Detective and he refused to give me any information about the jewelry. Our Detective then called and said that he did not know the laws for the Cash For Gold place and asked Steve if he could look up the information on the laws for Cash for Gold places – Steve found this very odd but agreed.
There was no evidence on Morgan’s body or in her room of any vomiting.
Thank you so very much for your kind words and continued support – we greatly appreciate it!